


Undeniable Bonds

by MetalicIgneel



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Angst, Eventual Smut, F/M, Friendship, Love, Murder, Natsu END - Freeform, Obsession, Regret, Self-Sacrifice, Toxic Relationships, can't think of anything else
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2019-12-07 02:31:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 165,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18228722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MetalicIgneel/pseuds/MetalicIgneel
Summary: Lucys knew the only way to save Natsu and her guild family was to agree to marrying the enemy, losing herself was a much better option than living life knowing they were gone. There had been something wrong with Natsu for sometime, and when he realized the marriage was a lie, the thought of loosing her sent him in a spiral of darkness that would consume him to the core.





	1. The argument

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is still well received! Please read and review, and let me know if there are some pointers or things you would like to see. Italic usually means internal dialogue or Flashbacks
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> “Lies and secrets, Tessa, they are like a cancer in the soul. They eat away what is good and leave only destruction behind.”  
> ― Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Prince

It was a normal day in the guild, or as normal as it could be; the request board was filled, and more than a few mages were already surrounding it, thinking about their next mission. As usual, it was all but a quiet place, a few tables were flying around, different mages daring each other to ridiculous competitions, and more than a couple of punches were being delivered left and right.

Gray had already removed his shirt when a redhead beauty with a strong temper shout at him; "Gray your clothes!" Her strong voice resonated wall to wall causing Gray to flinch. "This is getting out of control! You need punishment!"

"Dammit! When did this happen?" obviously his intention was to put his shirt back on, however, this proved to be more difficult than what he initially thought.

"I said put your clothes on! Didn't say to take more off!"

"WHAT! DAMMIT!"

The guild was filled with its every day noises, it was weird how you could feel so at home in such a rowdy place. It was the beginning of September, and the weather was perfect; a breeze covered the town with the sweet scent of the forest.

Cana was sitting at her usual table observing as Erza scolded Gray for his inappropriate stripping habit, and trying to contain her laughter. Seeing Gray shiver under Erza's commanding hand always made her laugh.

She looked around her family, the one she decided to join after her mother died. Cana arrived at the guild at a young age looking for her father, but eventually decided to stay; she used Holder Magic mostly based on her magic cards, which she always kept with her along with a huge barrel of booze.

Everyone believed she was hardheaded and careless since she had a common habit of drinking, and flirting; little did everyone know that she was also one of the most observant members of the guild, whether the information she obtained was used to tease her friends or for other purposes depended on the type of information. She could always tell when the winds were changing for her guild family, and today she sensed the September breeze would bring more than a few surprises.

A noise from the front door caught her attention causing her to peek through the narrow semi-open space. What she saw immediately spiked her interest. It was not uncommon to see guild members fighting each other, but this was not like any of the regular brawls; this seemed more as a personal argument, and fists were not involved for once.

She recognize the pink haired mage frowning at someone whom she was not able to see through the small space; she saw a pale small hand reaching out to coup his cheek, and him slapping it away; it was obvious that he had startled himself by doing so, since he took a step back.

He put himself together and slammed the door open, storming into the guild; He had fie in his eyes and directed his step to the request board, he grabbed the first piece of paper he could catch, and as quickly as he came in, he was gone.

He stump his way out of the guild ignoring his friends voices, and went through the door slamming it again, making his way out of the guild with the same anger and determination as before, which revealed the victim of his tantrum. Cana could clearly see Lucy covering her mouth with her right hand and holding her arm with her left; this was an uncommon event. While Natsu could be dense, and somewhat insensitive, everyone knew he protected Lucy with his life; the mere thought of him being the reason of Lucy's tears rubbed Cana in the wrong way.

Cana felt the urge to go outside to comfort Lucy, but decided that right now she probably needed the space and didn't want to make her uncomfortable. She was also worried about Natsu; she had seen fire in his eyes before every fight, but not like the one she had seen for the past few weeks; it seems the fire grew a bit darker every time. She remembered asking him about it, and getting no particular answer.

_-Flashback-_

" _Are you gonna tell me what's been bothering you?"_

" _Nothing's bothering me; anyways, if it was why would I tell_ _ **you?"**_

" _Hey! That was hard…"_

" _Ugh… I'm sorry Cana. It's just…"_

" _Yeah?"_

" _It's nothing… ok? I just… I've been having trouble sleeping, that's all"_

" _You? Come on, I've seen you sleep over a rock, and underneath a table"_

_He laughed a bit at her comment, then, he flashed his huge grin at her. She saw the dark fire on his eyes evaporate into nothing "Yeah, you are right. It's nothing, I promise. Why are you so worried all of the sudden? Do I need to make Mira cut you off?"_

" _Try to take my booze away Natsu… see what happens…"_

_He raised his hands in defeat "Woo… Relax. Man… you can't take a joke"_

* * *

Lucy's POV

"Could you please keep it down?! Not everyone needs to know how ridiculous you're being about this"

"What…I'm being ridiculous? Great! So you don't care about the fact I'm asking you not to go? You haven't seen this guy for years Luce! What do you even know about him?"

"What is it to you anyways? I can go wherever I want, whenever I want and I don't need you to come with me"

He felt the fire accumulating on the pit of this stomach "Oh you don't! Well apparently that doesn't apply whenever you need to pay rent, does it?!"

"Are you being serious right now? Most of the missions we go to leave less money because of your wreckage! You could at least learn some self-control!"

"Look we ain't having this argument Luce. I don't like him, so, if you go, I'm going with you, and that's final. Last time I checked I didn't need your permission to go wherever I wanted to go either"

"Come on! You are being a child! You don't like him? You don't even know him! For once in your life could you act like an adult? GEEZ! Just leave me alone for once! It will probably serve me well to have vacations from you!"

Natsu's face harden and his eyes moved to the door; the anger inside him was pilling up without him fully understanding why. He was aware that the fire in the pit of his stomach was becoming dangerously hot, and was trying his best to control it, however, controlling his mouth was a different issue "I know what you talk about with him; I know you talk about me. Is that really how you see me?"

"Wait now you are listening to my personal conversations? How about some privacy Natsu?"

"Ha! You can't fool a Dragon Slayer's senses, or maybe it's because I'm…wait how did you call it?… oh yeah "an incontrollable mess that needs a leash, incapable of committing to something and so dense that couldn't see the truth even if it slap me on the face" or something like that…"

Lucy's eyes widen in panic, she recognized those words as her own and had regretted them the moment they left her mouth. This had happened no more than a week before, when they had to relinquish all their reward to cover a few collapsed buildings. She raised her hand to cup his cheek "Natsu, I'm..." the sudden slap on her hand threw her off; while she had received her fair share of beating as a consequences of Natsu's brawls with others, this was the only time he had purposely laid a hand on her in an aggravated way.

She stood frozen in the same place rubbing her hand, as she watch him storm inside the guild, only to come back no more than a minute later with a paper on his hand. Without looking at her he walked passed her and just mumbled, "Do whatever the fuck you want, I don't give a shit"

Lucy couldn't hold the tears once he left, she rested her forehead on the wall trying hard not to surrender to the sadness; after a few minutes, she put her hair behind her ears and took a deep breath. She couldn't let the rest see her like that, so, she cleaned the tears from her face and walked as calmly as she could into the guild, no one seemed to notice what had happened, and for once she was happy the guild was such a noisy place.

Not long after, Happy flew inside the guild with a very sad face, landing on her breasts as usual.

"Lucy!" There were tears running down his small blue face and sticking to his whiskers.

"What's wrong buddy?"

"Natsu didn't want to take me with him! He was so mean!"

"Oh Happy, I'm sure he'll get over himself soon. Did he say something to you?" She really wanted to believe he would get over it quickly, and give her an opportunity to explain.

"He…he said he preferred to be alone for this one. He told me I couldn't come" Lucy tried to smile hiding her own sadness and padded Happy to make him feel better, although petting his fur was more of a comfort to her.

"So I guess it will just be you and me?"

"Well that sucks…"

"HEY!"

"I'm sorry! It's just not the same without Natsu!"

"I know buddy… How about I buy you all the fish you want? We can even go fishing! How about that? Lucy knew how to draw a smile in the small cat's face. She knew it wouldn't distract him for long but it would serve as a temporary solution.

"YEAHH! I have my fishing gear ready at home! When do you want to go?"

"Well, we could go now"

"Ok but first I need to get some lunch!"

"Amm… Happy aren't we fishing our lunch?"

"But Lucy! I need energy to fish! You are so dumb… You can't fish on an empty stomach"

Lucy rolled her eyes but decided to play along; after all, she wanted him to stop thinking about Natsu, at least for now.

"Fine, fine" she waved her hand disregarding her annoyance "Mira! Could you please give the Fish addict something to eat? And can I have a strawberry milkshake?"

"Coming right up Lucy!"

A few minutes had passed; Happy was enjoying his third Fish at Lucy's expense, while she was playing with the straw from her almost untouched milkshake. She was trying so hard to let things be, but found herself incapable of holding her tongue. She attempted to ask in a nonchalant way, but was of course very unsuccessful.

"So…" She laid her elbows on the bar and rested her face on her hands "Did your annoying friend mentioned how long he would be away?" Happy looked at her with disappointment not knowing how to answer her question and shook his head.

Of course, Mira joined the conversation; that woman had always had an ability to pop in at the right time. Lucy commonly teased her about her gossiping and matchmaking obsession, but she knew if Mira ever wanted to blackmail someone at the guild, they would all be in trouble "Well Natsu being Natsu will probably not be away for long, but the only one missing from the board is a three month gig"

Their jaws landed on the table causing a thud "WHAAAAAAT?! He can't possibly be away for that long! What is wrong in that stupid pink head of his?!" Lucy was feeling upset, but also guilty. She had never been without him for such a long time, and although she was mad at him, she was aware it hadn't been all his fault. - _Well then I guess that's that, there's no clearer answer for me now…-_

At the end, Happy was too full to go fishing, which of course Lucy had warned him about, but it didn't matter, she had succeeded in taking his mind away from his best friend who had left him behind.

Lucy went home to continue working on her novel, she took a long bath, and she cried a bit more before going to bed. Hours later, she was awaken when she felt something slam against her face "What the hell!?"

"Lushy! Wake up!"

"Stupid cat! Why do you keep breaking in!?"

"Luuuuushy you are being mean! You said we could go fishing!"

"Like… now?..."

"Yeah…now"

She reluctantly got off bed almost growling, and changed her pajamas for a pair of blue shorts and a tank top. She had never been a huge fan of fishing despite of joining Natsu and Happy several times, and most times she went only for their company.

After walking for some time, they got to their usual fishing spot and sat down; it didn't take long for Happy to break the silence that had settled between them.

"Do you think he is angry at me Lucy?"

"Oh come on! Why would he be angry at you?"

"Well, I stole his food the other day, maybe he doesn't want me to live with him anymore"

"Listen! He is not angry at you and he would never kick you out, you silly cat!"

"Are you sure? He's been acting weird lately…"

"Weird how?"

"Well, I'm not sure how to explain… Like the little things that annoyed him now upset him, ya know? I thought he was impatient, but now…"

"Yeah…"

"Also he keeps waking up in the middle of the night, sometimes screaming, and goes outside for hours!"

"Where does he go?"

"Not sure…"

"Well… he is being weird"

"You are being weird… but then again you are always weird Lushy…" Happy covered his mouth with his paw trying to hide his laughter without much luck, before Lucy put her hand in the water and soaked him with a swift move.

The days went by slowly and painfully for both of them; every time the guild door opened, they would turn with hope just to see it was somebody else.

Of all the people Lucy had ever met, Natsu was the one that had never disappointer her; he acted like a child most of the time, and she had unofficially taken the responsibility of "babysitting" him, however, she had never felt disappointment when talking about him; this particular emotion was something she knew well thanks to her father.

She thought that after all the times Jude had put his work before his family, the Phantom Lord incident, and him trying to marry her into another wealthy family… disappointment would be something she would be able to disregard easily, as it turns out, she would soon realize how wrong she was.

After three weeks, it was evident he wasn't coming back any time soon. More than a few members of the guild had started discussing how weird it was that he hadn't taken Lucy, but they were even more shocked by the fact that Happy was left behind; since Happy hatched they couldn't think of a time in which those two were separated for more than a couple of days.

Cana was bored and more than a bit drunk after an intense drinking competition with the Master when she approached a sad looking Lucy at the bar.

"Hey Blondie! So when is that douchebag partner of yours gonna be back?" she could tell right away she had stroke a cord there when Lucy's eyes watered, and that kind of made her sober up a bit.

"Hey Luce, I'm sorry, are you ok?"

"I'm fine Cana…"

"That I'm fine sounds as fake as me saying I'll stop drinking tomorrow… Look, I didn't want to say anything; I noticed you too had been fighting a bit lately, what happened?"

"I just, I think I pushed the wrong button this time Cana, he was right to be mad, I just didn't think he would be  **this**  mad you know?"

Cana nodded but was still clueless about what had happened, she didn't want to push her into a conversation she wasn't ready to have "I'm sure he will have a clear mind once he comes back Luce, don't worry too much" Lucy gave her a "debutant" smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"I'm going home now to work on my novel; we'll talk later ok?"

"Sure thing… Hey Lucy, I'm here if you need me ok?"

"Thanks…" Lucy grabbed her bag and walked out of the guild leaving Cana with a bad feeling; she knew something was not right, but was incapable of pinpointing it. Gajeel sat down next to Cana drinking a large beer and simply asked, "So you want to know what happened between Salamander and Blondie here?"

"Well well, who would have thought you were one to gossip… I though you like to keep away from people's businesses Gajeel"

"I do, but the day is incredibly boring and I could have a few FREE beers Cana"

Cana smiled and yelled quickly "Mira can we have two beers? And please keep them coming!"

Mira nodded politely handing them their two beers before returning to her conversation with Laxus.

Gajeel took a big drink before starting the conversation "Why do you care what's happening between them anyways? I'm sure they'll patch things up as soon as he comes back"

"I'm not sure why… it just seems odd, you know?"

"Well, I could only hear part of it; after all I don't pay much attention to those weirdos. I know he was pretty angry at her for talking to someone about him, he probably overreacted, but it ain't his fault either; honestly he is going through a hard stage right now"

Cana looked a bit more confused now, and stayed quiet to let him continue…

Gajeel sighed, "It's not the fight that is the real problem, all Dragons go through this incontrollable stage, basically like every other teenager you know but with a Dragon nature, the instincts get sharper and more often take the best of you"

"How so?"

"Hmm I guess you get more protective of your space, you start noticing more things, and of course your senses go in overdrive"

"Is that why he got all weird around her?"

"Not sure; I don't know the details, but she wanted to go back home and see this guy friend; and Salamander basically forbade her to, so things didn't go smoothly there"

Cana's confused face was even more noticeable know, Lucy had mentioned it was her fault but this sounded like Natsu acting like a dick "ok let's back off a little here, what do you mean with incontrollable dragon teenager, you Iron moron? Do we need to be worried about him? He is incontrollable already, so if it gets worse than now we may have to start saving to reconstruct the guild for the millionth time"

Gajeel laughed loudly, "Oh it gets worse…oh man you don't know half of it Drunkard. At least I'm glad I went through it way before I came here, you guys wouldn't let me forget about it"

"So… you mean this is the "more relaxed" version of you?"

"Of course, by the time I came here I was already very much in control of it"

The thought of Gajeel being worse than what he was now crossed Cana's mind and sent shivers down her spine  _–How much worse can he get?-_ "Ok so just to be clear… when you were in Phantom and destroyed our guild… were you…?"

"Oh nah, that was even before that"

"Seriously… what did you do?"

Gajeel smirked at her jokingly "There's not enough beer in this town for me to tell you Cana… wouldn't want to damage the good rep I've accumulated during my time here. I'm just going to say this will be fun to watch"

* * *

Lucy sat on her desk trying to write, but she was still bumped about the whole situation; it was hard enough to concentrate without the constant image of Natsu popping in her mind every 5 minutes.

Phone rings…

"Hey Lulu! So have you thought about it? Please say you'll visit? I can't wait to see you!"

She recognized the voice right away; Fukuro was someone she had recently reconnected with, and she had fond memories from their childhood together. His and Lucy's parents would usually do business together which left the kids plenty of time to roam around the properties and play; she remembered him as a sweet boy with a shy smile. Lucy being as high temper as she was, would usually push him around to different adventures knowing the scared little boy would never refuse her; he was all grown up and doing most of the pushing now.

"Hey… Fuku-kun, I'm not sure yet, my partner took a long mission and I…"

A very annoyed Fukuro cut Lucy off, "Lu!, come on! You can't seriously wait for that good for nothing to come back; you said yourself he acts like a child and keeps being confusing about everything, why on earth would you prefer to wait?"

"I know what I said, but he is not like that! He is extremely loyal, and protective, and he is so… I mean…"

"Lulu do you have feelings for him?"

"What? No of course I don't!"

"Then why are you so worried about him? He's been gone for weeks now! Is not like he cared about hurting you when he left did he?"

"I guess you are right… (blushed), but he is my guild partner and my best friend!"

"Fine, so if he is really your best friend, that won't change right? So what damage could a short trip do?"

Lucy let the words get in her head and ignored the nod building in the pit of her stomach. She was mad at herself, but also mad at his childish behavior, and decided staying would only reaffirm the wrong behavior on her best friend.

"Fine, I'll see you soon then"

"Oh Lulu! You won't regret this! I can't wait to see you again; I've missed you so much"

"I've missed you too…"

With newfound determination, Lucy decided to pack a few bags; she wasn't planning for the trip to be long anyways. She was folding her clothes when she was invaded by the feeling that she was forgetting something.

"Hmmm… ok… Toothbrush, hairbrush, underwear, shorts, skirt, pants, blouses… Gee.. I may be packing too much…" She switched her weight and bit her thumb thinking what could she be missing when the image of the small blue cat came to her mind "Shit!..." She didn't want to leave Happy by himself.

Happy hadn't taken his friend's departure well, Lucy and the rest of the guild tried hard to keep him company, and distract him as much as possible, but it was just not the same without Natsu. Things had gotten so bad that even Carla threw away her snob behavior to keep him company in activities she usually deemed childish and worthless, the bigger surprise was that she didn't complain a bit about them.

As if being summoned, the feline flew inside her apartment. "Hey Lucy, what's for dinner?"

"Silly, you know I have fresh fish for you today, just as yesterday, and the day before"

"Aye! You are the best!"

Happy settled on the table to wait for his food patiently (not…) "Stop tapping your little paw on the table! I'm coming!"

"But you are so slow!"

"Do you want to go to bed with an empty stomach?"

"You are so mean Lucy!" the blonde giggled before placing his plate on the table. "there, there… so, what did you do today?"

"Not much… The guild is boring without Natsu"

"I wouldn't call it boring, maybe… less noisy? They sure fight less"

"Uhm, Lucy you are so dumb! That's exactly why it's boring… even Gray is bored…"

"Oh really? Why do you say that?"

"He tried to pick a fight with some of the guys today"

"Hmm, how did that end up?"

Happy tried to cover his smile with his tiny paw "Well the guys mostly ignored him, so then he thought it would be a good idea to pick a fight with Erza…"

"Oh poor Gray… so boredom did get the best of him"

"Aye… may he rest in peace" Lucy immediately frown "Oh Happy don't say that!" The cat smiled again "Hey! How about we take a short vacation before Natsu comes back?"

"I don't know… what if he comes back while we are gone?"

Her own concern filtered through her mind as she recognized the thought, but that went away quickly once her determination kicked back in "Well Happy, he didn't think much about us when he left did he?"

"I… I want to stay"

"You can stay if you prefer but I'm leaving in the morning. I don't want you to stay alone, what about you stay with Wendy and Carla?"

A smile immediately appeared on his face, Lucy knew he would take any opportunity to be around the white cat, and now that she was trying to be nicer to him, it was the perfect opportunity.

"Aye!"

It was settled, the next day she would be back home to visit. She knew the house she grew up in wasn't hers anymore, it had been taken over along with her father's company, but she still was excited about going back and seeing it from the distance.


	2. Strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two original characters join our heroes while in their "Self discovery" journeys, both seem to have very different personalities. Would it be too late to discover who to trust? as we all know, now everything that shines is gold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not good a summarizing each chapter, my apologies
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> In the middle of the journey of our life, I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost.
> 
> -Dante Alighieri-

Light filtered inside her apartment causing her to wake up, she stretched in her bed and yawned. It had been weeks since Natsu left and even if she hated to admit it, she missed kicking him out of bed, and yelling at him for sneaking into her house. The warmth of her bed wasn't the same without her personal heater.

She took a few minutes to find the determination she had the day before, but she sat up in bed and continued with her morning routine; after a long bath, she inspected her bag to make sure nothing was missing.

It wasn't long before she heard movement on her window, her heart skipped a bit before the blue cat's voice brought her back to reality. Apparently, wishful thinking was enough to make the pink-haired mage appear out of nowhere.

"Hey Lushi!"

"Happy! I though you would be at Wendy's already"

"I wanted to see you off" The blue exceed smiled lovingly "Liar… you want breakfast! I can hear your stomach growl all the way over here" Happy covered his mouth and laughed "Well that too! But I do want to go with you to the train station!"

Lucy couldn't help but smile, he was small and annoying, he loved teasing her, but after all, he was also one of her best friends "Fine! Breakfast then!"

Lucy prepared some toast and tea for her and grabbed some food for Happy. They sat at the table enjoying each other's company for a while before Lucy had to go. As promised, Happy walked with her to the station, although it wasn't so much walking as lying on her chest and snuggling.

They were finally at the train station and Happy looked a bit bumped "Hey, what's wrong with you buddy?"

"You are leaving me too!" the cat cried in a childish way and pouted.

"Now, now… I asked you to come with me, but you preferred to stay with Carla… because" Lucy imitating the annoying voice Happy used when teasing her "You looooove her!"

"Not Funny! You don't know how complicated a woman's heart is Lucy" he crossed his arms above his chest, and snorted in annoyance.

"Happy… I am a woman…" Happy covered his mouth to laugh "If you say so…" he flew away not before Lucy grabbed him by the tail and squeezed him "Say that to my face, you stupid cat!" She wanted to be mad at him but for some reason she laughed too, and then she hugged him tightly.

"I'll let you know once I'm there ok? I'm not leaving you! I'll come back soon, and then we can go fishing, hell, we'll even convince Wendy and Carla to join us ok?"

"Do you promise?!" She hugged him again against her chest "I promise!"

Lucy boarded her train back to her old town; it had been long since she was there, and now with both her mother and father gone, she didn't think she had a reason to visit. For the hours ahead, she doubted herself more than once – _Am I doing the right thing?-_ She was definitely still angry at him, but she was also angry at herself; she was aware that both of them had acted wrong.

Over the past few weeks she had noticed some weird behavior from her friend; he flinched at the sound of her voice, some days more than others; other days he was acting "normal" and suddenly his attitude would switch. One particular episode that came to mind; she was eating breakfast, and Natsu took a piece of bacon from her plate, as usual; she had basically jumped on her feet and launched at him, but once she was able to wrap her arms around his neck from behind, he had thrown the food back on her plate and apologized.  _–What's wrong with him…-_

While lost in her thoughts, she started dozing off; it was only until she arrived at her destination that she woke up. She was already there, so, she decided to make the best of it.

She took her bags and walked out of the train searching with her eyes; it had been so long since she saw her childhood friend. That's when she saw the tall, tanned figure waving at her; he had grown a lot since she had last saw him, he still had a kind smile and his big olive eyes were sparkling of happiness; he was wearing an impeccable dark gray suit, and was waiting with a red rose bouquet.

She walked slowly with a shy smile; he was a bit overdressed in comparison to Lucy who was wearing a blue tank top, and a short denim skirt. They hadn't seen each other in years, and they had only recently started talking on the phone; he walked towards her and wrapped her in his arms as if it was normal between them; Lucy was uncomfortable with this, and she didn't know how to react so she pulled away slowly but with a smile.

"I'm so happy that you are here! You look amazing"

Lucy blushed a bit "Hey you look pretty well yourself! You grew up a bit too" She teased, he was definitely taller than Natsu.

"Let me get your bags!"

They walked together to his vehicle, driven by a man that judging by his attire, was at Fukuro's service. The man immediately pulled the door open for them and took Lucy's bags to the trunk.

"Wow… well this is nice"

"You deserve nothing but the best Lulu"

"Oh stop it Fuku-kun" She smiled at him, and he couldn't stop thinking on how that simple gesture was brighter than the sun "Hey, do you know of any good hotels around here?"

Fukuro snorted reminding Lucy that despite the money, the suit, and the lifestyle of nobility, the man sitting next to her was still the same scrawny kid she used to spend her afternoons with "A Hotel? You must have hurt your head during one of those… awful missions with your reckless team… you are staying in my house"

"I really don't mind staying in a hotel; also I don't think it would be appropriate"

"Nonsense, there are more rooms in that house that I even know of. I'm not letting you pay for a room Lu"

Lucy nodded and thanked Fukuro, but for some reason it still felt wrong; she started thinking about Natsu's words  _"You haven't seen this guy for years Luce! What do you even know about him?"_  She really didn't know much about him now, but how much could he have changed from the boy she remembered; he smiled at her before pushing her in a childish way, causing her doubts to fade away.

The drive there was still awkward, not a lot of words were exchanged, and they just didn't know where to start. Once close to their destination, Lucy's mouth opened in surprise, the place was even more beautiful that what the remembered.

They drove through an open double gate into a rock path surrounded by beautiful trees; it was almost autumn, so, the leaves started to change colors giving a beautiful mix of green, orange, and brown. She could see more trees at the distance along with other smaller constructions, a greenhouse on the left and flowers of every color covering different patches of land until her eyes couldn't reach that far anymore.

The vehicle finally stopped in front of a beautiful manor that reminded Lucy of her childhood home. It was a large three-floor construction, with what seemed to be a terrace on the last one; the tiles were dark gray and there were at least two lines of windows with at least ten windows each; the outside walls were light blue; it was breathtaking.

"I didn't remember it being this big!"

"I remodeled a bit, but I'm pretty sure it was always big"

"So… I assume the family business is doing well" Lucy smirked at him trying to tease, but his expression changed quickly.

"It is, Lucy… I wish I could have helped you father, but back then none of this was mine"

"Don't… "She smiled again "That was his own doing. How about we avoid subjects that can ruin our reunion?"

"As you wish"

They entered the house, if the incredible manor and the outside hadn't taken enough breaths away from her, the inside of the house did.

Classical white marble floors covered the house along with high pillars completed with magnificent carving, which almost seemed to be holding the ceiling, a beautiful imperial staircase rising to a half-landing, and dividing into two symmetrical flights to then turn to the next floor. Finally, her eyes landed right in the middle of the foyer, where a beautiful rose bed laid right underneath a skylight that illuminated the room.

Lucy was completely baffled by the sight, her mouth was a bit open in surprise, while her eyes shook in amazement; she was almost glowing.

"Wow… This is… a little remodeling you said? This looks like a completely different place!"

"Yeah, I didn't like how my parents kept it, so, after they died I took it upon myself to build something I could enjoy"

"Oh… I'm so sorry, I didn't… I should have been here for you"

She noticed his expression changed to a more serious one, for some reason the idea that he seemed as a completely different person during those few seconds came to mind.

"It's ok; that was also their own doing; so, let's stick to not talk about unpleasant topics, ok?" He smiled again and he went back to the person Lucy though she knew; she decided to disregard her thoughts; Lucy preferred to believe he was just having a hard time with the passing of his parents.

"Greetings, Tatsuma-sama; Heartfilia-Sama, May I take your bags?" The woman entering the room looked impeccable; her gray hair was up in a perfect bun, she was wearing a navy blue uniform with a white collar, which was spotless and went all the way to her knees.

"Alicia please show Ms. Heartfilia to her room and get her settled. Lucy, we will be spending an evening in town, you will find everything you need upstairs; I hope your new accommodations are appropriate"

She hesitated a bit before handing her bags to Alicia; she seemed to remember her and smiled from ear to ear. They went up the stairs and followed the aisle to a white double door with golden carving; Lucy went inside the room and was amazed by it. It had a queen size bed with enormous pillows, a pillar on each corner holding a pink translucent fabric that wrapped around its middle; she ran to the window, it had a desk in front of it, which was ready with paper and pen for her writing, she also noticed the sight, it led to more trees and flowers.

"Is this room to your liking Ma'am?"

"I'll say… this is beautiful"

"Oh there's one more thing to show you" Alicia led Lucy to another door inside the room.

"OH BY MAVIS!" Lucy screamed as soon as her eyes landed on the huge walk in closet filled with so many clothes and colors that she almost cried out of excitement. "This! This is too much!"

Alicia giggled a bit "He just wanted to be as comfortable as you could, so whatever time you remained you had no concerns"

"But… I'm only staying for a few days! This is… too much! I mean I love it… but…"

"Let's see how things go ok? Now if you follow me over here, this leads to your bathroom" She again led the way to the most spacious place Lucy had seen  _–I could live in this bathroom… -_ The place had a very spacious shower with glass surrounding it, and next to it a bathtub big enough to fit more than one person. On the other end, she could clearly see a white dressing table with a big mirror on it; this was practically the room she always dreamed of.

"Maaan, I wish I hadn't taken a bath already!"

Alicia giggled, "Well, let's pretend you didn't. I remember as I child you would always love water" She looked up at ceiling remembering "You would always take Tatsuma-sama to the river, one time you conjured your water spirit and you both came back soaking wet with scratches allover"

"Oh yeah… Aquarius can be… tempestuous… "

"Well, I hope you decide to stay" She widen her eyes "For longer, I wish you decide to stay for longer I meant"

Lucy found the comment weird, but she went against her better judgment (again…) and disregarded the idea.

* * *

When Natsu stormed out of the guild, he went straight home to pack. All the way there, he kicked every rock, cursed at every tree and mumbled to himself.

"I'm ridiculous? She's ridiculous! What now she is gonna see this guy that she hasn't seen over the last… decade or whatever! She is so reckless!"

"That's funny… coming from you at least" The blue car snickered and teased his best friend.

"Oi! Where did you come from!?"

"I thought you had your super senses… I think you are losing your edge…"

"Happy! I'm so not in the mood… What do you want?"

"Amm… Well we are going on a mission… aren't we?"

"No, we are going nowhere; I on the other hand am going on a mission"

"Ok so then we are going on a mission"

"Can you fuc…" Natsu stopped himself when he say the face of his friend "I'm sorry little buddy… I need some alone time ok? I'll make it up to you when I come back"

"Hmm ok… am… take care Natsu…"

"Yeah… see you soon"

He got home, grabbed his backpack and got whatever he could find inside,  _-She would already be yelling at me for not folding my shit… and making me do a stupid checklist-_ It took him less than 10 minutes to get everything together and then he was gone.

He refused to take the train so he walked for two days before getting to the small town. The job request said he had to report to a small bar called "The raven"; once he found the place he went inside he observed the place, it wasn't much really. It had about ten wood tables with four chairs each, the bar was on the right and on the back, there was a pool table where a crowd was cheering at the competition taking place.

"Oi! I'm looking for Tom!" He was ignored by the loud crowd "YO! SOMEONE?!" again, ignored. He walked there and pushed people aside when he saw her; she was leaning on the table holding a cue and aiming at the eight ball.

"Right pocket" Her voice was commanding but soft at the same time. She was wearing a tight V-neck shirt that exposed her breasts while leaning on the pool table; her hair was the color of Erza's but perfectly curled, and her eyes were olive and deep.

She hit the ball hard, and just as she said, it entered the right pocket. Some people groaned, some cheered; the first half had to pay their bets. She laughed loudly and grabbed a shot from the table, while drinking it a single think stream fell from her mouth and down her neck all the way to the middle of her breasts.

He didn't notice he was staring when her voice startled him "See anything you like?"

He cleared his throat "No, I… I'm looking for Tom…"

"Are you the mage?"

"Yeah, Natsu Dragneel from Fairy Tail"

"Merryl Marlone… from everywhere" She winked at him and smiled "isn't this my lucky day" She walked around the table moving her hips from side to side until she was in front of him; she sat on the table and without taking her eyes off him she yelled "Hey Tommy! The great savior is here!"

A chubby man made his way towards them in a rush, we has semi bold and had a thick mustache. He wore a white shirt and jeans that were stained from tending the bar "Hey Kid"

"Not a Kid… Natsu Dragneel"

"Sure, sure… ok so you know why you are here for?"

"Some bandits, right?"

"Yeah, they've been attacking the merchants and they've killed some already. The merchants come through the woods at least once a week and we haven't found any patterns on the attacks"

The girl jumped off the table "So that means we have to wait for them"

He snorted and gave her a confused look "WE? Nah, I don't need the company"

"Well, but I need the money darling… You wouldn't deny a fellow her paycheck, would you?"

Natsu really wanted to spend some time alone, but if she had been hired, he was in no authority to make her stay, so he just went with it. She led him through the woods and showed him the spots where the attacks had happened; Natsu picked up many smells, but no blood whatsoever.

"I thought the guy said some merchants had died"

"They did"

"Bullshit… There's no blood"

"Ok know it all… and how would you know?"

"You can't fool a Dragon Slayer's nose"

"Well maybe they killed them some other way, who knows"

"We should have asked how they died, it's a good way to prepare ourselves" Natsu immediately felt weird saying that  _–Definitely something Lucy would say…maybe something rubbed on me…-_

"You worry too much!" She glanced at him and grabbed his bicep "With a man as strong as you, we have nothing to worry about" Natsu pulled his arm off awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head.

They finally arrived to a place good enough to set camp, close to the river to have water available, enough trees to shelter them and enough dry space to light a fire.

"So, Natsu was it? You said you can fool a Dragon Slayer's nose, what exactly is that?"

"A Dragon Slayer? Hmm, well there's a few of us; we were raised by Dragons until they disappeared some years back, and they thought us our magic"

"I see, I thought Dragons were extinct"

"I mean yeah, but… It's really complicated" He didn't really want to explain the full version of Anna, Zeref and his books, the jump in time and such; even for him the details were not really clear.

"I love complicated. So how many slayers do you know?"

"Hmm let's see… My guild has three aside from me, I know Iron-br… I mean Gajeel, and Wendy, which are first generation Dragon Slayers, and Laxus, but he wasn't raised by a Dragon… then Sting and Rogue from Sabretooth… Oh yeah also Cobra from… well he is from another guild…"

"And what's up with the nose thing?"

"Our senses are heightened, so we can notice stuff other people can't; so, we can detect smells, find people, you know that type of thing"

"Wow" she sat closer to him "So, what do I smell like?" Natsu got a bit uncomfortable, it was uncommon for people to willingly submit to a Dragon Slayers nose, and he had been scolded by Erza enough times to know it was not polite to sniff at people.

She leaned over and stretched her neck right in front of him "Just out of curiosity, of course…"

He stared at her before breathing through his nose, he immediately recognize the smell, and whispered "Lucy's perfume…" she looked at him "I smell like who?" He shook his head and laughed nervously "A friend, you are wearing the same perfume she does, but she smells different than you, even without it she smells like vanilla…"

They went on with their day, Natsu did a bit of fishing for dinner and they sat down by the fire while she continued to ask questions about his guild life.

"What's up with the interview Merryl?"

"Hey if I'm going to spend three months with you here, I need to make sure you are no psycho"

He burst into laughter and shook his head "Fine, you've got a point there. How do I know you are not a psycho then… you could try to kill me in my sleep"

"Well what do you want to know?" Natsu frowned "Hmm, I don't know… tell me about your family"

"Well, there's only my mother, my brother and I… I used to have a boyfriend to, but it turns out he is kind of a dick; apparently I'm always attracted to the wrong type of people…"

"Well… aren't we all" he smiled and looked at the fire intensely, he couldn't get Lucy out of his mind, it hadn't been a day and he already missed her, but he couldn't back out know; the guild's name was too important for him to quit a job.

The days passed each more boring than the last; there was no sign from the bandits although he did hear and smell the merchants pass by frequently just as Tom had said.

Each night brought the same nightmare over and over again; he would wake up panting, sweating and shaking reminding himself that he wouldn't be capable of such atrocity. One night the dream was even more vivid and he just couldn't go back to sleep; he stood up and removed everything but his boxers before jumping in the river to cool off.

"Hey Flame-boy… what are you doing?"

"Hmm… couldn't sleep"

"Ok then" Natsu looked as she got ahold of her shirt and pulled it over her head, "What are you doing?" she smiled and latched her fingers to the rim of her shorts, "Well… if you can't sleep…" she pulled them down slowly, and she was left in nothing but a black bra and matching panties before jumping in the water.

She immediately threw water on his face and laughed, he wiped his eyes and smirked before retaliating and pushed her in the water. It wasn't long before they both laughed uncontrollably. Merryl got closer and wrapped her arms around his neck; Natsu immediately pulled himself back but she didn't budge.

"Hey… What are you doing?"

"Just enjoying myself"

Natsu cleared his throat "I think I've cooled down enough" he grabbed her arms and pulled to remove her from him before jumping out of the water; he died immediately with his body heat and changed before going to bed.

The nightmares became more frequent, which each day, Natsu was looking far beyond his best; his face showed anguish and tiredness, even his appetite had diminish with time. He'd been in the woods for a few weeks now. During that time, they had talked about many things, mostly Natsu's adventures, Lucy, Happy, Lucy… Gray, Erza, Lucy… (So yeah, Lucy came up a lot…).

He was getting a bit more than frustrated, there were still no news on the bandits, and with each day, Merryl became more determined to get his attention, and even more difficult to remove from his side.

This day however, had been relaxing; Merryl had gone to town a few hours before to get more food and supplies, and he had taken advantage of it to swim naked, rest a bit and just be alone with his thoughts, which he now knew was a bad idea; his mind kept going back to the day he argued with Lucy, how he slapped her hand and yelled at her  _–She's right about me… I'm a total idiot…-_

It was late already when the sound of footsteps took him away from his thought, he recognize the sent "It took you long enough"

She laughed loudly causing him to turn to look at her; the fire flickered and reflected on her red curly hair, her emerald eyes sparked; she was wearing a red buttoned blouse with a V-neck and a pair of tight blue jeans that showed her near perfect silhouette.

"Hey Dragon-boy! Stop being a buzzkill… Look at what I got! I'm sure this will help take that pathetic frown of your face honey"

"Merryl, I'm not in the mood for your comments, we've been here for 3 weeks and nothing has happened, I'm bored out of my mind! I think… I think I should go back home, I have some personal shit to take care of"

"Duh… we all have personal shit to take care of… this is a job dummy, we are not here because we want to be"

Merryl kept walking but lost her balance and was about to fall, thankfully Natsu's reflexes kicked in, and she ended up in his arms.

"Well Lizard, it seems there are a few benefits to having you close by, I wonder how many more benefits are there" she said while putting her arms around his neck.

Natsu blushed a bit and helped her stand "Well copper head… the only benefits of having me close is that I can defeat anyone! One time Luc…"

He was immediately interrupted, Merryl waved her hand disregarding his comment, and snorted "Lucy, Lucy, Lucy…I don't see your girlfriend here keeping you warm at night, so I don't understand why you mention her sooo often"

"She's not… she's not my girlfriend, she is my partner and my best friend..." he felt like there was more to say but he bit his tongue."So hot head, what did you bring from town?"

She smirked at him and got two bottles of whiskey from her bag "Man… you and Cana would get along well… but I pity the poor bastard that walked near both of you"

They had dinner by the fire underneath the stars; they opened both bottles and started to drink right from the bottle. After a while there was about ¼ of liquid in each bottle, she assumed this will get Natsu a bit chatty, however her plan didn't work as well as she expected due to her lack of knowledge in Dragon Slayer metabolism, and the fact Natsu grew up with Cana, so she was definitely more drunk than he was.

"So...the girl ain't your girlfriend then?"

Sigh "No…"

"But you would like her to, wouldn't you?"

He choked a bit causing an awkward silence "of course not, she is my most faithful friend… the person I can always trust, she is...was… I don't… she is probably angry at me…"

"Come on… how can she stay angry at someone like you" She gave him a lustful smile, which made him blush; he looked up at the sky seeing the constellations, and thinking how he should have listened when she tried to explain their names and guardian spirits.

"We… had a fight before I left… I was a total dick now that I think about it…"

"So have you ever kissed her?"

Natsu looked at her completely annoyed "What type of question is that? No we haven't, not that's any of your business Merr…"

"Oh honey, you can't blame me for asking, so… final question, have you actually kissed someone before?"

Natsu put his hands on the back on his head and laid down on the floor looking at the stars again thinking on a proper answer, but took a second too long. Merryl let herself fall on his chest, and got her face close enough to cause their noses to touch, he instantly froze "Merryl what the fuck?"

"What's wrong honey? You have no one, I have no one, we are all alone here and no one is going to come for us"

"Ok so?"

"Clearly you've never kissed someone before… it would be a crime to let that situation be, don't you think?" she fisted his vest and pulled him even closer.

Natsu had a feeling he hadn't had before, he was confused by her actions, the mix of alcohol and Lucy's perfume caused a fire to build in his lower stomach; it soon covered his full body, and suddenly Merryl closed the gap between them until their lips touched softly.

He felt a rush, his head started spinning, there was something stirring inside him, and then he saw her, Lucy's image jumped to his head, he didn't know why, her smile, her scent, he snapped out of it and noticed Merryl was now completely on top of him now basically grinding against him.

"Merr, stop, I can't do this; this is not what I want"

Merryl grinned and looked down "Salamander, your words may say no" She looked down "But that's probably the only part of you that thinks that, come on kid, I told you no one will bother us here"

Natsu stayed quiet for a second before he got up quickly pushing her away from him, "hold on… you called me Salamander, we've been here for almost a month and you've never called me that, and you seem very sure no one will come here"

Merryl started laughing frenetically and clapped while she sat on the floor "Bravo honey! You are not as stupid as they told me you'll be, I'll give you that, and it only took you three weeks! Yeap, no one is coming, your mission was to be here, and mine was you"

He gave her a death stare, he was pissed off "and all of this?! How far are you willing to go for your mission!?"

"Oh honey please! This is not part of the mission; I'm just a girl who doesn't mind to mix business with pleasure"

He snapped; Natsu grabbed her from the hair, and looked at her with fire in his eyes; his mind was going wild  _–you are dead, you are dead, I should end you right now and say the bandits got to you… no one would think twice; I'll tear you apart – ._ His internal voice scared him so much that he released her from his grip, causing her to fall on her back. That's when he saw it; her shirt was now unbuttoned, and hidden below her right breast there was a guild mark he didn't recognize.

He took a few steps back before he started running to put some distance between them, he felt something within him that was not right, something fighting to get out, and the thought of not knowing what he would be capable of, shook him to his very core.

The last thing he heard from her while he ran, was her frenetic laughter "You should have taken the opportunity I offered Salamander, you'll never be worthy of her"


	3. True colors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First, I should say I have about 20 more chapters ready since I started this back in November in FanFiction so I'll be posting probably one daily, however if I get some people interested enough I'll be more than happy to upload 2 a day, so please leave some comments.
> 
> In this chapter we are finally able to get a glimpse of the reality of where the real danger comes from, the search for power triggered by dangerous obsession.
> 
> In a less serious note: I am running out of FanFic to read, please send suggestions :P 
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> "We're all stumbling in the dark, and that makes for some pretty interesting collisions."  
> ― Marty Rubin

* * *

Lucy decided to take a long bath in her majestic bathtub, she didn't have the need to take anything out of her; it almost seemed they knew exactly what she needed. The room was supplied with a variety of essential oils and bath salts that if it wasn't for her now needing to provide for herself, she would probably buy.

It was very similar to the scents she would usually pick, except much fancier than her usual items. She was embraced by vanilla and lavender along with the extremely hot water from the tub. It was normal for her to use scolding water, although she wondered where the habit started; this led to a small monologue while resting her chin on the edge of the tub.

"I wish this water was hotter… Pf… any hotter would probably melt my skin off… Nah… I've survived Natsu's "fire dragon size" tantrums, I'd probably be fine" She giggled a bit before sighing "I guess after hanging out with him for so long water doesn't seem as hot…" She sighed again thinking of him and shook her head "I mean hot as in fire, not that I think he is hot… of course I don't… stupid Natsu…"

She started feeling guilty, she had let him leave knowing there was something else bothering him aside from her reuniting with her long lost friend, she had left too "I guess a little time to cool off does't hurt…"

She got out of the tub and wrapped a baby pink fluffy towel against her body, and a second one on her head to take the excess water from her golden locks; she walked towards her bags only stopping a bit to glance at the things in the biggest closet she had ever seen. The clothes were gorgeous, but reminded her of a time where she was unhappy; a life filled with long stiff dresses and shoes, wine glasses and fancy dinners, a distant father and an arranged marriage.

She got to her bags and selected a cute black skirt that stopped above her knees and was open on the side, a dark blue sleeveless blouse and a matching pair of shoes; she dried her hair and added a little blush and lipstick before looking at the mirror. She went down the stairs and noticed Fukuro was already waiting for her.

Lucy stopped midway, and smiled at him only to find a frown on his face "Amm… everything ok?" she suddenly felt nervous and out of place.

"Ahem, yeah… you look lovely, but I really think you should change into something more appropriate"

She lifted her left eyebrow staring at him "Why?" He cleared his throat, and pulled the sleeves of his coat nervously "Well, we are going to a nice place" she soften her brow and took a deep breath "And…" Fukuro knew she had made her uncomfortable but he decided not to budge "While you look incredibly breathtaking Lulu, there's a code of etiquette there… I'm sorry to ask, could you? Please…"

She sighed in defeat  _–fine, I'll wear the stupid uncomfortable thing –_ "Fine… give me a few minutes"

Lucy went back up, walked into the closet and stared at the dresses for a few minutes before choosing a soft salmon colored dress with a heart shaped cleavage. She found herself trapped in yet another monologue.

"Why did I want to come? Magnificent idea… I leave an uneducated idiot to visit an aristocratic one! Mavis! This is all my fault, if I just stood my ground with these assholes!" she almost lost her balance removing her shoes, which caused her to have to jump a few steps "If I was home we would be having hot wings! Or burgers from that stand we love…UGH!" she finally managed to wiggle inside the dress only to find herself unable to zip herself up "FUUUUCK!"

She stomp her way down the stairs, and blushed as she turned her back to Fukuro "Just zip me up… and watch your hands" He tried to contain his laugh while pulling on the small zipper "What's so funny?!" Fukuro was the one blushing with embarrassment now "I'm sorry Lulu! But you haven't changed a bit! Still a fire cracker for what I can see"

After puffing her cheeks in annoyance, she grudgingly accepted his arm to walk outside of the house; the driver was waiting outside of the vehicle, he opened the door for her before getting behind the wheel.

The drive to the restaurant was quiet, she rested her face on the window looking at the fanciest buildings and whispered to herself "Toto, I've a feeling we are not in Kansas anymore…"

"Sorry Lu, did you say something?"

"Oh no! I was just admiring how much the place has changed…"

"Oh yeah! We remodeled part of the city"

"We?... how many of those places do you own?"

"Hmm just some, also I'm part of the city council, and I'm very involved with politics here"

"Like the whole kissing children and cutting ribbons type of involved?"

He chuckled a bit "Yeah, what other type of politics are there Lu?" She laughed a bit and let her bad mood fade away.

The restaurant was impressive, candle light, chandeliers, red silk tablecloths. Lucy couldn't help but think on how every woman there was trying to look as if they came out of a magazine. Fukuro ordered the most expensive wine bottle, and ordered for both of them after giving a quick glance at the menu, which she didn't appreciate much.

"So Lulubelle! Tell me about you?"

"Lulu what? Ugh never mind… well, I don't know what else I can tell you. You know I'm with Fairy Tail" she lifted her hand to show her pink guild mark "I'm part of one of the most kickass teams in Magnolia!"

"Well I know that, but you haven't talked much about the rest of your team, just that kid you work with?"

"Kid?... Oh you mean Natsu? Well he ain't a kid really, he is just a big dragon baby" She laughed at her own comment imagining a little Natsu with dragon wings and tail flying around "I also work with Erza, Gray, and Happy!"

"Seriously… Happy? One of your guild mates is named Happy?"

"Yeah! Well he is a cat really, a flying, talking, annoying, fish addicted cat"

"Oh… that's… interesting…"

"Yeah! Well Erza is one of my closest friends, she is drop-dead gorgeous! And Scary… really scary, people know her as Titania the Fairy Queen. One time Natsu stole the last piece of strawberry cake and after she was done with him he had to stay in bed for a week!"

"I see… and this other guy?"

"Oh Gray! Well he is an ice-mage, a pretty impressive one actually. He is pretty strong but also kind of secluded, and has super intense rivalry against Natsu, man you should see them fight, seriously! The guild has been destroyed thousands of times"

"So it all comes back to the dragon baby then, you sure seem to like him the best"

Lucy blushed immediately "wh-why do you say that? I mean I've told you, he is m-my partner, and my b-best friend"

He didn't pursue the conversation on that, the food arrived at the table while he continued talking about his business and future plans while Lucy nodded politely; her mind however was once again drifting into the third monologue of the day.

_-Why is he eating so slowly? Wait am I eating too fast? Stupid Natsu… eating with him has forced me into slurping my food to keep him away from it; ok, slow down… chew Lucy. I would so prefer to be eating a burger… this food is boring, it reminds me of my house –_ Lucy noticed she had thought about the word house, and not home; she knew very well her home was filled with noise, magic and fire, no other place could ever be called that for her.

They finished up and walked outside of the restaurant to get into the vehicle that was already waiting for them.

"I had a lovely night Fuku-kun, that was an incredible restaurant"  _Ugh… the burgers though…_

"I'm so happy you enjoyed it!" His smiled went from ear to ear "I have many other surprises planned you know? I just wished you could stay longer, there will be a festival next weekend, I hope you consider at staying until then"

Lucy smiled and said she would think about it, she was enjoying herself; it was everything a vacation ought to be, however the lifestyle didn't suit her anymore and after being there for a day she was already homesick.

They started getting closer to his place, since it was night the gate leading to the main path was closed, it was an old metallic arch with a 2-door gate, she noticed an inscription on it "Timor autem pertinet ad infirma"; the old gate also had a beautiful figure of its family's shield, an owl.

"Fuku-kun, why does the inscription say fear belongs to the weak?"

"Someone has been polishing their Latin" He smiled at her sweetly "Because it does Lu, there's no place to show weakness in life, anyone who does will accomplish nothing"

"Hmm I think truly brave people look fear in the face and take action despite of it. I think the bravest people feel scared often but accomplish their goals through determination"

"Well that's a very interesting opinion that we can continue debating throughout your visit, and we probably will if you continue being as hardheaded as I remember" they both laughed and stayed silent; Lucy was amazed by the sight of the tree lane and flowers showered by the night sky.

The path leading to the house was filled with the smell of trees and flowers, Lucy enjoyed every second of the view from the window, although she missed the cherry blossoms from home, which by now were probably losing their leaves.

Fukuro slowly moved his hand towards hers and held it gently, little by little his fingers started to entwine with hers; this startled her a bit, but in her mind, she took it as a friendly gesture from her friend.

Once they entered the house, Fukuro stopped her below the skylight pulling her hand, he put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him; one of his hands made it's way to her nape while the other one rested on her back. Fukuro was more than a bit surprised when Lucy placed her hands on his chest and pushed gently.

"W-what are you doing?"

He released her nape and sighed, "You keep waiting for someone that won't come Lulu, but I'm a patient person and you are worth it"

"You know I care about you, so much, but we are just good friends, whatever happens in mi life that feeling won't change"

"You don't know that, I can give you anything you want"

"I have everything I want now"

"Oh please… you work yourself off to pay rent, you endanger yourself and come back with scrapes all over your precious skin… that's no life for a princess Lu. I can give you the world, just say what you want and I'll get it for you"

Lucy pushed his hands harder successfully separating herself from him "I'm tired Fukuro, I'll see you tomorrow ok?" Lucy smiled at him politely and walked up the stairs with tears forming in the corners of her eyes.  _–This was a mistake… I don't need any of this-_

Fukuro observed her until she disappeared on the marvelous steps, he stared at his right hand as if looking for something missing, that hand had held hers, and he could feel her warmth. He was left looking at the moon through the skylight and suddenly a crooked grin appeared on his face; that was not the look of a defeated man.

* * *

The pink-haired dragon slayer kept running until he couldn't feel his legs, his gut told him something was not right but he couldn't pinpoint it. Judging by the moon, he knew that it was late although he had no way of telling.

He stopped and rested his hands on his knees panting, before cleaning the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand  _–Fucking psycho…-_ He knew he was too far away from her, he had been running for hours now, but the way she laughed still sent shivers down his spine, there was something off.

It was clear to him that despite running with all his strength, he wouldn't make it home that night, so he decided to rest, surely, a few hours of sleep would clear his head. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, and soon after that, he was engulfed by the darkness around him.

The same nightmare he'd been having for the past couple of months made his way into his head, this dream had caused him to be afraid of closing his eyes and for the last couple of months he hadn't allowed himself to rest more than a few hours at a time.

He kept repeating to himself it was just a dream, it didn't hurt anyone really, but just the thought of the images crossing his mind was enough to deprive himself from it. He woke up in a rush, with cold sweat, gasping for air and holding his chest, there were tears on his face, crimson scales covered the left side of his body.

"This is just a bad dream, just a bad dream… I would never…" He glanced at his arm and saw the scales. He wanted to cover his face with his hands but stopped to observe the crimson claw that looked sharp enough to shred someone to pieces.

Slowly his skinned turned back to normal and he decided sleeping was not an option at this point, something was wrong and he needed to go back home. He ordered his legs to move despite of still feeling them as jelly, and continued with way back home.

* * *

Merryl

She continued laughing hysterically after he was gone; she hugged herself as her laughter resonated through the forest until it faded to become intense sobbing. She knew she'd done something wrong and was aware there would be a price to pay.

She sat down and held her head with both hands while pulling her knees to her chest in complete panic.

"It's too soon, it's too soon, I need to fix this. It can't be too late, I can fix it, I will fix it"

She took a communication Lacrima from her bag and held it to her chest for a few minutes. Her heart and mind were racing as she tried to think if there was a way out of this, however she couldn't think of any. She held the lacrima with her shaky hands and took a deep breath before activating it.

"He…he is gone, I couldn't hold him here for longer. I can fix it, just tell me how to fix it, I know I can"

Silence invaded the space; she felt her heart stopping "Please… Please…" she couldn't hold the tears running down her face "Just give me one more chance". All of the sudden a familiar voice came from the artifact

"It was barely enough time, but it is not too late Merryl. I'm almost done but I need an extra couple of days, you will go to him. I need eyes in Fairy Tail, I'm a merciful man, IF you succeed I'll keep my end of the bargain, but if you don't… well I guess you don't want to find out"

She knew she needed to come up with a plan and decided to leave in the morning; she got closer to the fire and cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Lucy

Lucy changed into a pair of shorts and a red oversized shirt, before throwing herself into bed. She hugged the pillow and couldn't help to grab the shirt and smelling it; it still smelled like him no matter how many times she wore it.

It smelled like campfire and cinnamon, these smells made her think of home although she didn't know why. Out of all the smells she could think of, these were her favorite ones, and the ones that reminded her of him the most.

He used to sleep in that shirt all the time, until one day during a mission Lucy ripped her blouse on a fight, causing more than one of their male companions to stare shamelessly at her. Natsu had noticed the stares and got the shirt out of his bag for her to wear.

The next day she tried giving it back to him only for him to place his hands behind his head mumbling "Keep it… you look… comfortable in it" she just smiled and nodded; she wouldn't admit, but it was her favorite thing to wear to bed.

She grabbed a book she kept next to her; it had been a gift from Levy, another romance novel describing impossible love defeating all odds. Of course any romance novel Levy recommended would be charged with very descriptive passionate scenes  _–I swear one this days her nose is going to bleed in the middle of the guild…-_ She read for a bit, the night was cold and she had too many thoughts; she felt guilt, longing, and sadness.

"I'll go back tomorrow, nothing will get solved if I stay here hiding" she felt confident about her resolution, and decided to get some rest.

_She drifted away slowly and wrapped herself in her blankets while images about a dreadful future flooded her mind. It started at the guild, sitting at a stool from the bar, Mira cleaning a glass and smiling, Levy punching Gajeel's chest for saying something disturbing, while Natsu and Gray fought bringing anyone along their destructive path. She was laughing with her friends; home was happiness, laughter, love._

_It changed too quickly; all of the sudden the earth trembled; the laughter died down and gave space for the painful screams of the city asking for help. The guild knew it was up to them to save the citizens; determined to do so, the mages stood up and went outside to protect the people of Magnolia._

_They knew they were under attack, but no one seemed to know who was behind it, all they could see was a dark purple mist covering from ground to sky, making impossible for them to see beyond their noses. It seemed as if the mist had a mind of its own, it moved slowly, rhythmically, almost like if it was dancing._

_Dust and shadows covered the sky making Lucy cough, a single a ray of light came through the heavy mist, making everything barely visible, and what she saw shook her to her very core. Her town was completely devastated, there was nothing left to save; where before trees, houses and stores stood there was now rubbage, and a dense red liquid covered everything –Blood… so much blood-. There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide; screams in the distance cut through her ears like a sharp knife._

_Lucy let herself fall on her knees and cried, she turned around to look behind her, searching for help; she wasn't prepared for what she saw, and each image was worse than the other._

_Levy was on the ground, a gash from forehead to chin cutting through her left eye, or what used to be her eye at least, her body lying on a pool of blood; her small frame was covered by a bigger one with a large dark mane. Gajeel's back had a cut so deep that almost split his body in half, leaving on sight some bone and muscle, and his arm barely hanging by a pink thread._

_She moved her eyes to find Erza's bloody hand holding on to Mira, she could only recognize them by the color of their hair and their tainted clothes. The bottom of Erza's body was missing letting her insides sprawled on the floor, while Mira's body look like it had burnt from inside out._

_She covered herself and screamed in pain while her dead family surrounded her, she was alone…_

_Out of nowhere, a person appeared next to her, tanned skin, pink hair, and white scarf around his neck that moved with the dark wind that tried to engulf them. Even without looking at him, the warmth radiating for his body was enough to know who he was. He kneeled in front of her and grabbed her shoulders._

_"You need to go, I'll save you, I'll make it all better, go now"_

_She refused and held to his arms, he padded her head and flashed his signature grin, as if his smile could make it all better; she hugged him and refused to let go._

_"You can't go! You can't leave me alone!"_

_He hugged her back gracing his cheek with hers, then he moved gently in a loving gesture, as if he wanted to feel the softness of her skin. He grabbed the back of her head and with a swift move pulled her into a sweet and passionate kiss._

_"I'll find you Luce, wherever you are, I'll always find you" he cupped her cheek and rubbed his thumb removing the tears from her face before facing the thread ahead._

_Natsu stood up and ran into the cloud in front of him, she couldn't see him anymore, and desperation sank deep into her soul. A gust of wind blinded her a bit; she could hear him roaring in the distance, the sound of his fire causing explosions… and then nothing. When she opened her eyes, she saw his scarf riding the wind, covered in bright red. She turned her eyes to the mist in disbelieve…_

" _He can't be… he never loses! Natsu!"_

_The place was deadly silent and she felt her heart breaking even more. "Natsu! Come back!" Nothing._

_She heard a dripping sound, and squinted her eyes to try to see beyond the mist; drip-drip-drip the sound didn't go away, drip-drip-drip. She widen her eyes as a thin blood stream that seemed to be engraved with fire made its way towards her, creating a small pool of blood around her; it was his blood, she knew; the warmth it irradiated was one she knew well._

Lucy woke up in tears, she was panting and covered in cold sweat that made her hair stick to her face and neck; her body was shacking uncontrollably, and she hugged her pillow while curling in bed to cry for the rest of the night.

It was barely morning and her bags were fully ready, she made her way down the stairs and left them next to the door when she heard his voice in the foyer.

"Leaving so soon Lulu?" She stuttered nervously, and tried to respond but was interrupted by Fukuro's hand gesture "It's fine Lucy, you are free to go. May I request one last favor? Just stay for breakfast and Tea, I'll ask Alicia to get everything ready to take you to the station ok?"

She nodded and followed him to a large room, it had a full red velvet living room and a fireplace, and on the opposite side a small table next to a window leading to the garden where everything had been set up for them to eat.

They had a basic polite conversation while eating; she kept looking at the time anxiously, and was ready to go home.

"Lucy what are you expecting to find back home? Here you can have whatever you want, luxury, peace, someone that knows your true value and that is ready to give you everything; I think I've made that very clear"

"I… I appreciate that, but I love my life, my friends, and…"

"And that irrational Dragon Slayer of yours. Really, what can he possibly offer you; he sounds terrible in all honesty"

That comment made Lucy fist her hands under the table "Look I know I said some harsh things, but he is an incredible person, he cares for me, he is my best friend and I don't appreciate you bad mouthing him"

"Oh I'm sorry Lu; I forgot you were completely and madly in love with him"

"No, I mean we don't have that type of relationship, but he is my best friend and NO ONE speaks like that about my friends"

"Once upon a time I used to be your friend too, did you forget?"

"I didn't… once upon a time sounds about right… but then again that was a long time ago"

"Lucy, you are lying to yourself with this… attempt of a life you have! What reason do you have to reject my generous offer?"

She frowned at his comment, "Well Fukuro, Thank you for your VERY generous offer, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline, I'm going home now, thank you for your hospitality" Lucy was standing up when suddenly Fukuro grabbed her wrist violently; she was shocked by the speed in which it happened.

"Let go, you are hurting me" her eyes were harsh when she stared at him, but what she saw was a different man that the one she knew.

"No Lulu, I haven't even started hurting you… you see I do love you, I always have, and I wanted this to be your choice, so I decided to give you an opportunity to understand you belong here"

Lucy couldn't understand what was happening, this couldn't be the same person, he had an evil grin and his eyes were emotionless. He turned her hand so she could see her palm, little by little, a shape became visible, and a dark owl was now painted on it.

"What is this? What did you do?"

"Oh not much yet but you'll see. So this is what's going to happen, we are going to get married, and you're going to be happy, I'll make sure of it. I'm not a monster, you will be able to invite your silly friends but they won't be allowed to visit unless I'm informed"

Lucy couldn't stop laughing, "Why are you so fucking sure I'm going to do this? Even if you succeed in keeping me here, they will come for me. Natsu will ruin your plans with his hands behind his back; he will burn this place to the ground"

"Oh yeah that's right we still need to discuss your little pet lizard. Well Lucy, I'm sure you are going to beg me to do this; it is very simple you see, either you do this, or there will be no power in hell that will be able to bring him back from the land of the death"

"You couldn't never defeat him or the guild, we fight together and we don't leave people behind"

Fukuro pointed at the black owl on her hand "But Lucy, are you ready to see your worst nightmare become true? What's it going to be? A lifetime of happiness with me knowing your pet lizard is alive… somewhere, or a lifetime of regret and loneliness caused by your childish selfishness?"


	4. Friends and Foes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darkness makes its way to his thoughts, he had always tried to keep his smile to cheer everyone around him and that has always made everyone feel comfortable and safe, although some times he is the one who needs comforting; luckily, a rival/friend with more experience on the matter is forced into assisting him. Fukuro gives Lucy a small demonstration of what he can do, making her shiver at the though of what she could lose in the process to freedom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to give a more emotional background on our Fire Dragon slayer, so, some of his actions are better understood. Hopefully this would make as much sense for you as if it did for me. Some may be a bit OOC BUT keep in mind we are referring to more adult versions of all characters. Please R&R
> 
> Remember Italics are for flashbacks, dreams, or internal dialogues.
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> "Yes I can smile, but it's so easy to fake it. Yes I can act like I'm happy, but inside I'm falling apart. Yes I can pretend like everything is ok, but in reality I'm broken."  
> ― Ester Escalante

After a few days of constant travel, Natsu was finally getting home. He was exhausted, sleep deprived, starved, and had pushed himself so hard that he had stopped feeling his legs days before. This wasn't uncommon; he was used to pushing himself beyond his limits time after time, to the point of tearing himself apart.

He finally slowed down once he recognize the terrain; a dirt path surrounded by trees that led to his own house. He didn't like the idea of living in town, this suited him more; for someone who made as much noise as he did, he actually preferred the peace and quiet of leaving outside of town.

Most town people knew and cared for him, but they had personally requested him to live a bit further away due to the imminent fire, and destruction that usually accompanied him. This wasn't at all offensive for him; after all, there were only a few mages who were asked to live outside of town, a few like Gildarts and Laxus of course.

He opened the door, and took a deep breath; he didn't know how much he had missed his house until the familiar scents hit him. He could tell Happy wasn't there, but he decided to take a shower and get a change of clothes; there was no way he was going to get away with going to the guild in his current condition.

He felt a hole in his chest eating away his soul, it felt like the emptiness was consuming him from within, and he didn't know what to do about it. Yes, he missed his place, but it seemed a house more than a home now, there was something missing, a certain warmth, a smell or quality that he couldn't quite point out.

Natsu walked towards the bathroom, and removed his clothes with painful moves; he turned the water on as hot as possible, and let it run down his spine while he rested his forehead on the cold tile. His muscles relaxed a little and he allowed the scolding water to take care of his sore body.

His hair was dripping wet, causing water drops to fall on his face and cover his eyes; as soon as he closed them, flashbacks from his dreams flooded his vision, the sound of her screams in his mind were unbearable. He shook his head "So much for a relaxing shower…" he grabbed the shampoo and decided to get it over with.

He wasn't a "feelings and conversation" person, more like a "demonstrate through actions" one. He had spent some time alone after Igneel left, but he never spoke about it aside from the few things Makarov had gotten out of him when he found him all those years ago.

He had seen Lucy die one time too many, sure… it wasn't  _his_ Lucy, not the one from his timeline but that didn't mean it hurt him less, he had seen his father die; there were too many things in his head but as far as everyone was concerned he was fine.

Natsu clenched his jaw as he remembered standing in front of Lisanna's grave next to the little house they'd built while incubating Happy.

_Elfman was standing behind Natsu crying over his lost sister "I'm so sorry Lisanna, It's all my fault you're gone… My little sister… If only we had taken you with us Natsu this wouldn't have happened; she'd still be alive"_

" _Would you shut up? Enough with the blubbering already. Do you really think Lisanna would like for you to carry around that guilt? How's she supposed to smile if her brother is feeling sad?"_

" _You're right…"_

_Natsu was shaking, and his voice trembled while he observed in pain the cold stone with the name of Lisanna Strauss, his best friend and the person he thought he would spend the rest of his life with "No matter what happened, she always had a smile on her face… remember? Even at the very end, she never lost her smile… If she were here now… I'm sure she'd say whenever you are feeling down, that's when you need to smile the most" He turned around with tears streaming down his face "So buck up, show her a smile like a real man"_

Sure, Lisanna was back, they had found her in Edolas long ago, but the experience of losing her never left him. He remembered when he first heard Lisanna saying those words to him. They were very young and he had been in the guild for no more than a few days still dealing with the loneliness that was left after Igneel's disappearance.

When he heard those words from her lips, he made a decision; he would smile even when his soul commanded him not to. He knew well that the simple action would bring peace and strength to his friends, the ones that had welcomed him and made him part of something bigger, the ones who had given him something to defend and to call home. Since that day he hadn't stopped smiling, his signature grin had become part of his personality. How could they know that sometimes his biggest smile was a signal of his greatest sorrow?

How could he ever be less than fine? He was happy with his life, friends, and guild; he would trust his friends with his life, but sharing the thoughts that cut through his brain was much different that trusting them with life and death situations. It was as letting them know that he was not as strong as they thought he was, and deep down he felt that would take away their strength too.

He finished his shower and dried himself up in seconds with his magic; he stopped at the mirror and rested his hands on the sink. There were dark circles on his eyes, but explaining he traveled all night would easily take care of any question. He took a second glance and brushed his fingers through his scars, each one of them telling a story on how he fought to keep evil at bay. He dressed up and fixed himself a little before leaving the house and walking to the guild.

All the way back he kept thinking about ways to apologize, but every time he opened his mouth and heard himself, it sounded stupid. He wasn't sorry about everything, yes, he was sorry about slapping her hand, about acting angry, but he still thought she shouldn't leave to see a guy she didn't know anymore.

Without noticing, he was standing in front of the guild; Natsu took a deep breath to compose himself and forced a big smile on his face before pushing the door open. He was trying a bit too hard to smile as if nothing had happened "I"M BACK!" his eyes kept searching for her blonde hair, but she wasn't there.

"Natsu!" Happy flew to his arms right away with small tears falling down his blue fur; Natsu picked him up and smiled at him, everyone seemed excited at their friend's return.

"How did the mission go?" Mira didn't look at him directly; she just asked and kept cleaning the glasses.

"Well Mira it… it went" he rubbed the back of his head and grinned once more while still hugging Happy against his chest.

"Mh? Did you get paid?"

"Can we just discuss this later? Have you seen Lucy?" Mira noticed there was something in his mind, but he looked about the same as he always did, which did nothing to ease her concerns. She looked at him for a second before turning away and shaking her head.

A friendly voice replied, "She left almost at the same time you did, we haven't heard from her yet, I'm sure she'll be back soon, she thought you would be gone for 3 months" she didn't move her eyes from the book to reply to him, and he sensed a bit of spite in her voice.

"Hey Levy, this is important, do you know exactly where she is?"

She looked at him and raised her eyebrow "I know she went to visit a  _friend_ , but I don't know exactly where. I wonder why she left in such a rush…" It was obvious Levy had emphasized the word friend with a certain tone, and he knew Levy was aware of what had happened.

Happy looked at his Friend and pouted "Natsu I miss Lucy! It's not fun without her!"

He clenched his fists and jaw at the mere thought; he couldn't decide if he was angrier at her for going away, or at himself for pushing her. It was noticeable that he was upset about it, and Levy put her book down for a second to truly observe her friend.

"A-are you ok?"

He laughed like he used to and fisted his hands on his hips "Of course I am Lev, Geez... you are spending too much time with Luce, you are getting weirder by the minute"

"Natsu…" The blue exceed knew Natsu well, they had lived together since he hatched and was no stranger to how his best friend sometimes got lost in his thought in what seemed to be sadness only to come back to his usual demeanor a few seconds later.

He sighed, he opened his mouth to try to convince Levy to provide more information; if someone knew where Lucy was, it was Levy. Before he could manage to get his words out, a voice interrupted his attempt

"Yo! Fire-Clown I thought you had finally understood that you couldn't defeat me! It seems you hadn't had enough yet!"

Natsu rolled his eyes and ran his hand through his face "Hey Gray"

"Come on Flame for Brains! I'll sweep the floor with you!"

He smiled again and shook his head "I think I'll take a raincheck on that" he turned on his heel and waved them goodbye before walking away from the guild.

"I'll come with you!" Natsu shook his head "Nah buddy, I just need to get some sleep… I traveled all night ya know? Why don't you ask Mira for some fish? Tell her I'll pay for it later ok?"

"Mhmm Aye…"

Everyone looked baffled at that point, not once since childhood had Natsu said no to a fight, especially when it came to Gray Fullbuster.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Gray clenched his firsts and started walking towards the door, when Juvia grabbed his arm and shook her head silently.

"Juvia doesn't think he wants to be followed"

"Well I don't care if he doesn't, he is acting weird and I'm going to beat him up until he acts normal!"

Gajeel observed from the distance, drinking his usual, he could tell something was wrong, but it wasn't his business. He didn't know Natsu as well as the others, but he had experienced similar situations in his life and was aware that the Fire Dragon Slayer had more in his mind that he led everyone to believe. He made a point of not messing with people's private stuff and as far as he was concerned, he had no reason to care anyways. Levy sat down next to him.

"Hey short stuff, what's on your mind?"

"He is acting weird…I think someone should talk to him, don't you?"

"Yup, definitely someone should"

"Yeah… Why don't you go look for him?" She looked at him with her doe-eyed expression and blinked a couple of times.

"Er…someone else I mean"

"Oh come on, you can't tell me you're not even a little worried about him you Iron-hearted jerk!"

"Well that's your mistake for thinking me being part of this guild would automatically mean I actually care about anyone here"

Levy gave him a very angry look and puffed her cheeks, "Oh come on! You are probably more…experienced in all of this"

"Shrimp, the fact that I'm older doesn't mean I'm more experienced in what he is going through, Hell! I don't even know what's going on in that fire head of his half of the time"

Mira and Cana invited themselves to the conversation and sat across from Gajeel and Levy; he could sense this was a talk he was going to regret.

"Oi! You know you are the best choice to talk to him, you said yourself you went through the same rough stage!"

"Cana shut up you drunkard! This is the last time I'll trade information with you… It ain't worth the free beer"

"Gajeel if you know something you should say something about it, not just stay quiet, we are all family here"

"Mira you Demon woman… I don't really know ok?, we all deal with it in our own way, I just know that he will be more impulsive, his gut will get the best of him, it all depends on the situation"

"Well then it's settled, you are still the best person to talk to him; logically, if he is in bad shape he could react badly, and you are possibly one of the few people that have a bit of knowledge and can take a hit from him any day of the week, so off you go …"

He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times to respond but he couldn't manage to get a word out, this happened more often lately whenever he got into an argument with Levy "You're smart little shrimp, aren't ya?... Fine, I'll finish my beer and I'll pay him a visit, can't promise I won't make it worst by beating the shit out of him"

"All I'm asking is for you to try, and if while doing it you could avoid getting into a fight with him I would appreciate it"

"I said no promises Shrimp…"

Gray and Juvia joined them shortly after; Levy was quiet and her mind seemed to be somewhere else. Cana noticed Levy's lost expression and took a gulp of her beer before inquiring "What's on your mind Lev?"

"Am… does someone else thinks Natsu was… smiling weirdly?"

"I know… I mean it looks like his regular smile but there's something off about it right?"

Mira rubbed her chin and sighed, "Well, I don't know about that… there's only a handful of times that we've seen him upset about something"

Gray laughed about the comment "What do you mean! He is the most short temper person we know! He gets upset every time we run out of chicken wings!"

Mira shook her head "Geez… and we though he was dense… No silly, I mean UPSET as is sad about something, not angry. The Natsu we love has a short fuse, sure… he seems to wear his feelings as a second skin, but I wonder…"

They all observed waiting for her to finish "has he ever said he is not fine?" they all took a moment to consider that. "Sure… there was that time where… am…" Gray's eyes widen while he tried to fill the blanks but nothing came to mind.

"This conversation is getting to touchy-feely… I'm going to see Salamander" and with that, Gajeel left the table and got on his way to Natsu's house.

* * *

Fukuro pointed at the black owl on her hand "But Lucy, are you ready to see your worst nightmare become true? What's it going to be? A lifetime of happiness with me knowing your pet lizard is alive… somewhere, or a lifetime of regret and loneliness caused by your childish selfishness?"

His comment took Lucy by surprise; it seemed that knowing someone for your entire life didn't mean you really knew whom they were. This man who she was so fond of had just threatened her best friend, the person who she cared about the most, and she felt fire in the pit of her stomach.

"How dare you?! Why should I believe anything you say? You are nothing more than a liar; you seem to be underestimating me a bit, who says I need to be rescued?" she smirked at him with confidence before reaching for her belt. She took one of her keys "Open Gate of the Goat! Capricorn!" and then nothing, Lucy was baffled and yelled once more "Open Gate of the Goat! Capricorn!"

"This is fun Lulu!" He clapped his hands rapidly and smiled "Should we try another one? After all you still have 9 more keys to try" he tilted his head and rested his arm on the back of the chair.

"What's happening? Why…why isn't it working? What did you do!" tears were now running nonstop.

"Neat trick right!? Well you see it's not that hard, you can't and won't be able to use magic until I release you from the seal, and I won't do it unless you are committed to this. It's a curious little thing; it gives me free access to your deepest hopes and dreams, your wishes and your fears, and allows me to make them real"

"I don't believe you, there's no magic like that, you can't possibly…" tears started falling down her face at an even faster rate. Even when she had been alone, having her spirits, her friends, gave her comfort, but now she felt helpless.

"Oh well looks like we are up for a demonstration!" His grin widen in a way that sent shivers down her spine. The shadow under his eyes, his wicked smile and his gesture, it almost reminded her of a demon more than a man "Now just remember Lulu, this will all be on you. Alicia! Please join us"

"Fukuro just stop! She has nothing to do with this, I know you, and you are not this person!" she tried to appeal to his good nature, somewhere in her head she still wanted to believe he was just lost, something had gotten ahold of him, and she could bring him back.

"That, dear Lucy is where you are wrong, this is who I am, this is who I've always been, who my parents were, and their parents before them, do you think all this family fortune, this very house was built on anything else but power? Don't be naive"

Alicia walked into the room looking as perfect as always, her wrinkle free uniform, her hair in a perfect bun, and gentle demeanor "Yes Tatsuma-sama, how can I be of service?"

"Please tell Lucy how long you've been at my family's service"

"Oh for as long as I can remember, I was born here, my family has served the Tatsuma family for centuries"

"Dear Alicia, can you tell Lucy how my family has helped you over time?"

Alicia turned to look at him confused but as always, she followed her orders "I owe them my life ma'am. After my father died, my mother lost her mind and she… she wasn't herself… they took care of her until her last breath, and they accepted me; they gave me a home and allowed me to raise my family here… I'll never be able to repay them for their kindness" Her eyes started watering; Fukuro held her hand as to comfort her.

Lucy gasped for air and sobbed, she could sense this was not going to end well; there was a particular quality about the air in the room, almost as if it was getting ticker and toxic.

"Dear Alicia, I know your biggest fear has always been to lose your mind, your very self, just like your mother did… to leave your children with the same picture of emptiness that your mother left you with"

Alicia gasp at the realization of what was about to happen, by instinct, she pulled away her hand from Fukuro's grasp and rubbed it, as if she hoped that would remove the tingling feeling on her skin. Lucy felt all hope disappear at that very moment, her chest felt heavy and the fear started invading her heart "Don't do it, please stop… just stop"

"Alicia, I promise I'll take care of you, and your family until my last breath… you've been of great service, and I'll always be thankful for all the times you cared for me…"

It was all over in a second; the spark in her eyes went away, and her face started twitching, she began drooling a bit, and Fukuro took his silk handkerchief to wipe Alicia's face, then gently grabbed her hands and laid them on her lap.

Lucy started shaking, she stared at Alicia for the longest time, trying to understand how to take it back, how to make her wake up, but it was useless.

"Why?"

"You needed prove…"

"Take it back! Bring her back! She has nothing to do with this"

"No"

"No?!"

"I want you to remember this… If I was able to do this to someone I love, to the one person who took care of me since my cursed stars landed me in this house, the one that held me when I cried and loved me more than my own mother!… Imagine what I would do to someone I really… really want to hurt"

"I'm not afraid of you… hurt me all you want, you still won't be able to defeat us"

"I never said I wanted to hurt you. So, now let's talk, shall we?"

"If you don't want to hurt me then what do you want?"

"I want you Lulu, I've always loved you"

"My love is something that can't be bought; if you knew me at all you would know this…"

"You'll learn to love me, I know you will. The stakes are too high for you not to try"

"What… what do you mean?"

"Oh Lu, I've told you… I can see through you. Your worst nightmare is, although it pains me to say, is to see that idiotic pink haired man-child of yours die, to lose him forever, and if you don't do what I ask Lucy dear, I'll make sure what you've imagined is multiplied by a thousand"

"Natsu…"

"Oh yes… I see it clearly… the dark fog… the death of you friends and the rivers of blood streaming down Magnolia. The knight in shining armor or the Dragon in scales rather, running towards danger to be the savior he has always been… Am I getting close?"

"No…"

"Oh yes, running to a certain death and leaving nothing but his own blood behind"

The pain that went through Lucy's body was unspeakable, although it wasn't physical, but more like the one left behind after your spirit breaks apart and tears your soul and heart to pieces.

* * *

Gajeel cursed all the way to Natsu's house, hands in his pocket, hunching his back, kicking every rock on the way.

"Sure! What a fucking great idea this is! Let's convince Salamander his life is anything else than worthless…Why do I get to babysit him? Fucking runt… I don't see Mira offering to do it, that woman scares the shit out of half the guild…"

He kept mumbling to himself while he got closer to Natsu's house, but his high skilled dragon senses picked up on something weird. He heard light growling, he sensed high heat, and his nose picked up a smell, it was Natsu but something else was there with him. The energy emanating from the place gave him goosebumps, and the first think he thought was that for some reason Natsu was in trouble.

He rushed to the door and slammed it open, but stopped right at the entrance. No one else was there, just Natsu lying on his bed, a dark aura emanating from his limp body, and it was so strong that caused Gajeel to take a step back.

Natsu was laying on his belly, making noticeable that all the left side from his neck down was covered with crimson scales; Gajeel followed the path with his eyes, getting a bit closer every time to inspect him further. His eyes reached his guild mate's hand that now had long sharp black claws.

He had seen Natsu lose it before, change in the middle of a fight, use Dragon force...this was nothing like that; this reminded him more of the time Natsu had almost drifted too far the time they fought his brother, the time he thought Lucy was gone. Gajeel would never admit to it, but the mere thought of it happening again sent shivers down his spine.

He called him as calmly as he could to avoid disturbing him "Salamander, man you need to wake up now" he thanked Mavis for Levy not being there to witness this. Gajeel kneeled next to Natsu and slowly got his hand closer to try to wake him, he wasn't even touching him and his hand was burning already, he was suddenly surprised the house wasn't on fire.

In a split second, everything went dark; he opened his eyes and blinked several times before realizing what was happening.

Natsu had him pinned to a tree; he was growling in a way that could only be described as savage and feral. Every time he tried to speak to him, Natsu would squeeze his neck harder, and suddenly with a swift move, his left claw had ripped through his skin, causing blood to trickle down his front.

It caught him by surprise, his skin was not easy to break; he used his metal scales and punched as hard as he could sending Natsu away.

Gajeel ran towards him before he stood, and didn't stop punching until he noticed there was no more resistance, he was glad it didn't go further, he wouldn't say it but he wasn't sure he could win with Natsu in his current state.

He sat next to Natsu and rested his arms on his knees, waiting for him to come back from it to determine if he was in his right mind.

Natsu woke up sore and confused, "What the hell!?"

"We need to talk"

Natsu looked annoyed "Why am I outside? Why is my face bleeding? And why the fuck are you here?"

"Like I said… we need to talk" Gajeel looked away and shook his head "Tsk…look, I thought they were overreacting, but you seriously need help"

"I don't need any help, especially from you metal head" Natsu was about to stand up and to leave, only for Gajeel to grab him by the shoulder and pulled him back "Let go Gajeel"

"I was wondering when all that heat was going to melt your brain! You could seriously hurt someone! Imagine if it was someone else that came to your house… would you be able to live knowing you hurt any of your friends?"

Natsu flinched at that comment, Gajeel didn't know why but the last statement he made stroke a cord. "Why are you here?"

"They thought I'd be able to help you regain some control… and I agree… I'm not sure what's going on with you man, but I'm sure as hell not the right person for you to talk to…we need to go back to the guild, but I won't take you there until I know it's safe for them to be around you"

Natsu was clueless about what they were talking about, he wasn't dumb, something had happened, he had done something he just didn't think it was that big of a deal "I don't need to talk to anyone, I'm fine, I'll deal with my own stuff"

"You are fine? When have you ever not been fine?"

"What's that supposed to mean lighting rod?!"

"Look it ain't my problem how you handle your shit with Bunny girl, but this is getting out of hand"

"OH that's rich coming from you! How's Levy doing?!"

"Tsk… Stay out of it. I'm capable of handling my own shit"

"Well that makes two of us!"

"HA! Yeah you are doing a hell of a job!" Gajeel tried to stand up, but as soon as he straighten himself up, he had to take his hand to his stomach as the sharp pain cursed through his body.

Natsu was about to respond with a snarky comment, but as soon as he pointed his finger to Gajeel he understood what had happened.

His arm was covered with crimson scales, he saw blood on his rival's chest and hand, and he immediately inspected his claws; they were still tainted and wet and he just stared at them in disbelieve. Natsu retrieved his hand and rubbed his arm up and down, as if he was hoping to take the scales away; this was not going to be a secret for long, he had lashed at his guild mate and nothing would fix that.

"Don't get all serious Salamander, this is not the first or last time we get into a fight" Gajeel laughed "Damn we are in better shape now than when Phantom Lord tried to take Bunny girl, that's for sure. It's sure as hell not the last time we hurt each other, you should take a look at yourself"

Natsu nodded in understanding but knew this was not the same, they constantly fought, there were cuts and bruises, but what had happened that day was pure hatred, he knew if he had been able to cut through Gajeel's thick skin, it meant he was aiming to kill. He tried to smile, he really did… that's something he could always manage to do; however, for some reason his lips were not responding as he commanded. He stayed in silence; there was nothing he could say to change what had happened.


	5. Testing Limits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An unexpected visitor arrives to the guild making things worse while Natsu realizes he can't always fix everything by himself. More than one person's limits will be tested in the quest for control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO, in case this come up, yeah, some stuff may be a bit OOC but I thought that since Fics are made to write different stories, that would be ok; also keep in mind we are referring to older versions. ANYWAYS who's not an angst Junkie right?
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> "Chaos... by its very definition cannot be controlled. Once introduced, all order and intention is rendered useless. The outcome of chaos can never be predicted. The only certainty it brings... is the devastation it leaves in its wake."  
> ― Emily Thorne - Revenge

"Did something like this ever happened to you Gajeel?" Natsu had relaxed a bit, and Gajeel could tell. He was sitting on the floor, his back hunched while staring at his hands, he was fiddling. The Iron Dragon Slayer acknowledged Natsu as a comrade, but the type of conversation he required was still way out of his comfort zone.

He stared at him for a few seconds and then gazed at the sky, his father had raised him to be tough; sharing was not something Dragons did well, they were hoarders, mythical beings of incredible strength. Gajeel was facing the decision to either be the helping hand or not. It came as a shock for him that the decision was not though at all  _-Dammit… am I getting softer? This guild is fucking me up-_

"Tsk… ok we'll talk but don't think for a split second that this means we have now that type of relationship. I'm only doing this because those girls will have my head, Understood?"

"Black Steel Gajeel, The Iron Dragon Slayer and son of Metalicana is scared of a few girls, that's something"

Gajeel fisted his hand and smacked Natsu on the head "OI! Do you want my help or not?"

Natsu rolled his eyes and nodded while rubbing the growing bump on his head "Yeah, yeah, my bad"

The Iron Dragon slayer gazed at the sky once more and sighed "I was alone back then ya know?"

"We all were Gajeel… seven is a lucky number for most, but for us…"

"Yeah… fucking pops, if he had stayed for longer, I wouldn't have as many questions as I have now"

"Well, at least you were older, weren't you? Your memories are probably different than mine"

"Probably, but that doesn't mean I had more time with him dumbass. Anyways, when the change happened to me, I knew there was something crawling inside… it was eager to come out, and it was something… bad"

"Did your father ever mentioned something like this to you?"

"Nah, the bastard would have waited for me to do something stupid to laugh at my face" Natsu had always wondered how different their upbringings had been, he'd never met Metalicana, but he knew him and Gajeel were different, Natsu had always tried to make people smile, while Gajeel enjoyed making people fear him.

"How did you get passed it?"

"I trained, a lot, Dragon force became easier after that, it was probably when my senses got very sensitive too. You know I just forced it out and pushed through, but it wasn't easy, it became… problematic"

"Oh ok, sure, I get that"

"You have no fucking clue of what I'm talking about, you idiot. All your senses are heightened, you go crazy about everything, and I mean everything, anger, joy… passion"

Natsu nodded in agreement "Hmh I get that, I… noticed a few things I… well I guess I just didn't focus on them before". There was an awkward silence and then he continued.

"You could end up hurting someone you care about Salamander"

"D-did you?"

"Nah… I've never cared enough for someone to put them in danger" Natsu wanted to ask if he had kept himself from people to spare them from getting hurt, and if he was still doing it, but Gajeel could sense the conversation was getting deeper than what he wanted.

"Look, I know I said I went though it… but I'm not entirely sure that what happened back there is the same thing Salamander"

"OI! But you said…"

"Tsk… I know what I said! But that was nothing like what's happening to you, I'm not sure what that was… you didn't look like you were quite there. I think we need to tell the others"

"This is too much…" He felt so overwhelmed by everything, and he wondered if it would ever get better "I swear I'm ok now, c-can we go back to the guild?"

Gajeel nodded and they both stood up to make their way back. Natsu stayed quiet all the way to the guild, he assumed after Zeref's passing, all his legacy would follow, but he wasn't sure anymore.  _-Maybe she shouldn't have saved me…-_

Back at the guild, the girls were sitting together talking about what could possibly be happening between Natsu and Lucy. They had always seemed to balance each other out; but lately the pair had felt out of sync.

Mira brought beers for everyone and sat down "I bet those two will get over their lovers quarrel in no time, they are just too perfect for each other!"

Cana was already tipsy and had no filter whatsoever "They need to get a room and just go at it, that would fix it!"

"Oh Cana, it's probably not like that. They care a lot about each other. but we don't really know how they feel, not reaaally"

"Juvia hopes Levy is wrong, Juvia wants Lucy to love Natsu so she will leave Gray-sama alone"

"I seriously don't think you have something to worry about Juvia" These words fell on empty ears, since Juvia kept mumbling to herself  _-Love rival- Love rival- Love rival-_

Erza listened to everyone quietly while eating her strawberry cake, she took a bite and then she turned to Lisanna

"Lisanna what do you think?"

The young take over mage was started "Why does it matter?"

"You are probably the one that knows him the best, at least at an emotional level"

"Come on Erza, we've all known them since forever, and I… left for a long time"

Mira looked at her sister, remembering the type of relationship her sister and Natsu had, was always strange for her "She is right Liss, we all know Natsu well, but not everyone knows him like you do, you know?"

Lisanna thought about it for a minute, "I hope he does love her" The table got quiet; when Lissana came back from Edolas they all expected for tensions to arise at the guild. "I don't think he loved me, not really… he probably thinks he did"

"What makes you say that?"

"Hmm, it's not like he ever said it… but how could he Mira? I'm not saying he is not capable of it, he loves the guild, he knows family love… he missed his father; so, he searched for something to fill that emptiness, but when it comes to romantic love…"

They all took a moment to consider this, Natsu didn't have a standard to go from, he didn't remember his birth parents not their relationship, Igneel was alone, when Makarov found him he brought a child to a place filled with other kids who were also alone.

"Well I hardly consider not having a strong example as an excuse to not know how to work a relationship" Erza took another bite of her cake.

"Amm… weeeell… If you think about it, none of us have had a successful relationship… ever" Levy's words sank in quickly making everyone realized they were in no position to judge the Fire Dragon Slayer; when it came to relationships, most of them were clueless, sure, not as much as he was, but still.

"Anyways! As I said, he probably thinks he did love me, it really seems when I went away part of him followed… I think he is a bit more guarded now, although it may not seem like it. If he loves her, he won't admit it that easily, he was been through a lot you know?"

Everyone agreed with Lisanna; between thinking she was dead, the enemies he had faced and the battles he fought; dealing with the loss of Igneel after searching for such a long time, and not only that but witnessing his last breath… no one had really thought about how he dealt with all of it. Who would ever think the man who held the spirit of the guild in his smile would ever struggle which such negative emotions? Of course, the fact that he was not a deep person at all, didn't help. They were taken out of their thoughts when the guild doors opened, and a strange woman walked inside.

"Hi! I'm looking for Natsu Dragneel" she said politely and smiled at the group.

"Well, he ain't here right now, what is your business with him?" Cana slammed her hand above her barrel and gave the woman a stern look.

"Cana, please keep it down, there's no reason to be rude. What can we help you with Ms… Sorry, I didn't catch your name" Mira gave the woman her usual sweet smile.

"Well, I didn't give one girly… and my business with him is my own, so… where is he?"

The fairy tail females were not a group someone would mess with, aside from having a couple of S class mages they, were all extremely short tempered, and no one, and I mean NO ONE would ever dared to speak that way to them, including their own comrades. The aura that started emanating from the fairy tail women was so strong, that the few man that were at the guild searched for shelter behind the counter of the guild hall.

"Oh for Mavis sake! This is how we go, brace yourself guys!"

"Mavis! We'll join you soon!"

"HEY STOP USING ME AS A SHIELD DROY!"

The boys were currently saying their prayers and begging for a miracle. They were surprised, the redheaded beauty with mile long legs didn't seemed to be scared of the group.

"Oh I see! these are the dreadful protective sisters, so cute! Fine I'll play along then, wouldn't want to be crushed by the power of Titania's fist, or annihilated by MiraJane's Satan Soul. I'm-"

The door opened to reveal a beat-up pair on Dragon slayers. Natsu stopped on his tracks and mumbled something while rubbing his forehead with his right hand. He fisted his hands and stomped angrily.

"Nope! Grab your shit; you are leaving right this second copper head!" Natsu grabbed her arm while pulling her to the door.

"Hey calm down you Lizard! You are hurting me! I'm just here to hand you your reward!" She tried to pull from his grip, but it was useless; his strength was way above hers.

"Keep your fucking reward and use it to go back to whatever corner of hell you came out from, move it Merryl!" She pulled again and was able to wiggle her way out of his grip causing her to land on her behind.

Erza slammed Natsu's head against the floor, of course she didn't like the newcomer, however, Natsu's behavior was not something she would tolerate "That is no way to treat visitors; Am I making myself clear?"

"Aaaarg…Aye sir"

There was a moment of silence; sure, they had all seen him upset, but this looked weird for them. Natsu would never be that violent with someone without a reason, and he was not one to use his strength against a weak woman.

Merryl smirked, she put both hands on her hips, "Oh my, and I was thinking about extending my visit just to get the pleasure of your company. I missed our little talks darling" she laughed causing him to hiss angrily.

"Whatever psycho! Just stay the hell away from me, I'm serious" everyone could tell by the room temperature that he was not happy about her presence; of course, if they were smarter, they had kept their comments to themselves but unfortunately for Natsu, this wasn't the case.

Natsu got a beer and sat down with some of his friends; he would turn from time to time to observe her with resentment.

"Natsu this is not how a man behaves!"

"Yeah, you were pretty rough with her, Natsu"

He slammed his beer on the table "Look, you don't know what you are talking about, so just shut it! She's bad news"

Merryl noticed he was looking and decided to have her own fun, she swayed her hips all the way to the bar and leaned giving the Dragon Slayer a good view of her back, he immediately turned away with a blush making her giggle.

She invited herself to the spot where the girls were sitting now and asked for a beer. The girls were not comfortable with her presence, but their curiosity was bigger than their annoyance. Natsu had the feeling that was not going to go his way and was deciding on whether to interrupt their conversation or not.

Bickslow and his babies soon arrived at the table "Well, she seems interesting; she's got a nice ass"

The Fire Dragon Slayer ignored his comment, but his cheeks became as pink as his hair when he remembered the moment when he almost caved to her obvious charms. This didn't go unnoticed by Bickslow who of course, decided to take advantage of the moment.

"What  _really_ happened between you two?"

"Nothing happened you freak"

"Sure… nothing happened…"

Gajeel crossed his arms over his chest and looked up "Well you may need to clarify, that ain't what she's telling them"

Natsu slowly turned his head to where the female mages were, afraid to what he was going to find, they were all paying too much attention to Merryl's words. Natsu panicked, that woman was the devil for sure. He stood up quickly and ran there slamming his hand on the table.

"Yo, I don't know what she said but it's probably just a bunch of lies! N-nothing happened, it was all very innocent and I s-stopped right away!"

Everyone was confused now; Gajeel put his hand on Natsu's shoulder and explained, "Salamander… I really wish you had let me finish; she was telling them that you were upset because her mission was to keep you in the woods for some time"

He turned white as paper, the girls were so surprised that their jaws almost hit the table, and were staring at him now. The girls stared at each other before Lisanna asked the obvious question "W-what exactly did you stop? Natsu! D-d-did you…"

"I… nm…w-wait! I…" There were no words  _-Fuck! Think you idiot! Say something, anything! -_

Merryl burst into laughter and put her arm around Natsu, "Well, I'm not one to kiss and tell, but then again I'm also not one to make out and run away".

Natsu removed her arm and covered his face with one hand; he look through his fingers to find Erza giving him a deadly stare.

"N-Natsu… did you desecrated this poor woman?"

"NO NO NO… w-wait a minute!" Erza pulled her sword and pointed it at Natsu "You shall be held responsible!"

"Oh Titania! Don't worry, his virtue is still intact… it wouldn't if it had been up to me, that's for sure" She licked her lips and laugh again "Although maybe darling, you were just not… up for the task"

"GEEZ just go back to the fucking hell hole you crawled out from!" He felt his pulse accelerating, as the room temperature rose again; he felt his hand fisting without his consent and he knew he needed to redirect the situation before things got out of control.

Lisanna noticed the change and immediately intervened "Ok on second thought, what really happened out there? You just admitted that your mission was to keep him away; I'd like to know more about that"

Natsu was pulled out his thoughts, he looked at his childhood friend and gave her a small nod while silently thanking her for the diversion.

"Well, is not that different to what you guys do, I got an assignment, took it and ran with it; a girl's got to make her money somehow"

"Where did the assignment came from?" Mira suddenly asked.

"It didn't have much information, I just had to send a letter back for them to send both rewards, which I did, and mine was less of course since it only lasted a month instead of the time that was originally intended"

Natsu thought the answer was insufficient but was calmer now that people had stopped asking about their little rendezvous; that was of course until Elfman pitched in.

"A man doesn't run away from any situation Natsu! A real man doesn't abandon a woman in the woods"

His eyes twitched a bit thinking on how close he had been of getting his way. He took a deep breath, "Fine! Yes, we kissed but that was it!"

"Well, it wasn't exactly a chaste kiss kiddo"

"It was just a kiss Merryl!"

"I remember a few brushes here and there… you have very warm hands"

"COULD YOU JUST SHUT UP!"

"You also unbuttoned my shirt, you sneaky lizard"

"OI! YOU DID THAT YOURSELF!"

Happy who had been quiet during this whole interaction was now covering his ears "Oh no! They like each other! Natsu, you like Lucy! You can't be undressing other girls!"

"OK THAT'S ENOUGH!" he pointed his finger at the blue exceed "Happy shut it! No one was naked; I do not like Lucy" then he pointed his shaky finger at Merryl "AND I DEFINITELY DON'T LIKE HER! it was just a moment" he could feel himself losing it.

"Ok this has been… interesting, but we need to go" Gajeel grabbed Natsu by his collar "Erza, Gray, Mira; Natsu and I are going to train for a bit and we may need some help" Gajeel gave them a certain look, they didn't know why but it seemed important for them to go.

They walked enough to get away from the populated area, it was all very suspicious, but they kept walking behind Gajeel until he stopped and sat on the floor.

"I thought we were going training, I'm ready to kick your ass, Flame-brain!"

"Bring it on Ice-Princess; let's see what you've got!"

Erza slammed both their heads together; Natsu seemed calm now and back to his usual habits. She turned to Gajeel.

"Spill it…"

"Well I'm not the one who should be doing the talking, I wasn't lying, we will train and I'm sure your help will come handy, but first you need to talk to your friend" he pointed at Natsu who tried to avoid their eyes.

Natsu sighed and sat on the dirt crossing his legs; they could tell he was nervous because he was fiddling, a little habit he had picked up from his blonde partner. They followed his lead when he sat down, he wasn't sure on where to start, but he decided to go with the first thing that had been bothering him.

"Ahem… so, ok… I guess I haven't been all that… well"

"Are you sick? Maybe you should go see Porlyusica, you usually don't get sick"

"Er… no, I'm not sick… I haven't been sleeping well"

"Oh… well is there so…" Natsu raised his hand to make her stop talking.

"Just… I need a minute ok?" He rubbed his face, why was it so hard to just tell them what was bothering him? "I've been having this dream; it started happening more often every time. I think it's been around 2 months now…"

He hesitated a bit before continuing, "I'm in Lucy's apartment, we are laughing and having fun you know? Just as usual… I… put my hand on her face and brush her hair behind her ear, and we just…you know, we are together"

You would think they wouldn't be surprised to hear he had dreams about Lucy, however as dense as he was, they actually were, not only that but he admitting to it was shocking.

He took a deep breath, "Anyways, this part gets confusing… it all goes black for a second and then I lose all control, I can see what I'm doing but I c-can't stop my body… I try, I really do…" they could hear his shaky voice during the last part, it was so full of pain and regret.

He didn't want to continue, however he remembered what happened earlier that day, what he'd done to Gajeel, he knew he didn't have a choice, he couldn't let that happen again. His guild was his family, they had been together through thick and thin; he couldn't allow himself to hurt them.

"I don't even look like myself… I'm covered in red scales… black claws and fire around me… just like when Zeref  _-my brother –_ and I…" All eyes were on him, he wasn't looking at them, but he felt their stares "I'm... I'm tearing her limb by limb… her blood is everywhere, I'm covered by it… elbow deep in her blood… it's on my face too, even dripping from my mouth… and then I gain control again but it's too late, just too fucking late… she is dead, I killed her"

A single tear fell off his face, he was shaking in anger; he hated himself so much after every dream. Erza walked towards him, and he clenched his fists and lowered his face to wait for what was about to happen, he deserved it, he had held this from them, he'd put them all in danger. He was almost looking forward to the ass kicking he was sure to receive.

She stopped and bit her lip; she kneeled right in front of him and covered him with her arms while stroking his head in a sisterly way. He was completely shocked, he didn't know what led to this and without thinking, he hugged her back and pressed his face to her neck.

After a short period of shock, Gray looked at them "Natsu…but, that's just a bad dream, you would never hurt her, or any of us, not like that anyways"

"I'm… not so sure, I think I could…"

"Come on you know that's not true" Erza squeezed him a bit against her armor.

"He is right… he could, and if we don't help him, I'm sure he will" They were shocked by Gajeel's statement.

Gray was beyond mad "Did you fucking hit your head idiot?!"

Gajeel stood up causing Gray to take a fighting stance, thinking this was like any other time. His eyes went from Gray to Natsu, and then he removed his coat. They could see this bloody shirt ripped from the front, but once he removed it and they were able to see the extend of the damage they were out of words.

"Gajeel!" Juvia ran to his side; she turned to give Natsu a dirty look and noticed he was facing the other way clenching his fists.

"Oi Juvia, I'm fine… stop pouting"

Erza got closer to Natsu, but kept a bit of distance between them "Explain"

"I… can't"

"What do you mean you can't Natsu?"

"I… don't remember" he felt so stupid saying that, how could he do such a thing and forget about it.

Gajeel put his clothes back on "I went to look for him as we agreed, I thought something had happened to him and that's when I saw it… covered in scales and all. I didn't even notice he was awake until I was pinned to the three; but I could tell by his eyes he wasn't quite there"

"What did you do?"

"I punched him until he was knocked out… it took some time, I had to be quick"

"I see… Natsu…"

"Don't Erza… " He took a deep breath, he was still shaking but he manage to turn around and give them a big smile "It'll be ok, Gajeel and I are going to train and I'll handle this… whatever it is"

They all nodded and agreed to help with the training, however their concern grew when they saw that smile. Natsu was strong, resilient, and loyal; he would bring them up with his relaxed demeanor, but the feeling that he was not really telling how he felt made them feel guilty. They'd never ask, when Lisanna died, when he came back a year after Igneel's death, he smiled and that was good enough for them.

The days went by as normal as they could be in this situation; Erza, Gray, Mira, and Gajeel decided after round one that they needed more support for the training, but agreed that it was too dangerous to tell everyone.

Levy was brought in to support Freed with runes for contention, but nothing more, Gajeel refused to expose her to it despite of her stubbornness; the Raijinshu (The Thunder God's Tribe), and Elfman assisted with the training sessions. The rest of the members were simply told they were training for S-Class.

Of course, Erza had to loop Makarov; she was now in charge of giving all the information relevant to their progress and their status.

Makarov was worried about his children, it pained him to know this had been happening under his nose.

He remembered the day he was told about it all, and he flinched at the promise Natsu had forced him to make

" _For how long has this been happening?"_

" _Gramps…"_

" _For how long?'_

" _O-over two months"_

" _Why would you keep such a thing from me, brat!?"_

" _I thought I would be ok! I swear! I didn't know how bad it was until Gajeel…"_

" _Fine… Erza I assumed you will oversee the training program?"_

" _Yes, Master"_

" _I want you to write it down, look at it and make it ten times harder… we are not taking any chances"_

" _Yes, Master" Makarov sighed "Leave at once, the sooner we start, the better"_

" _Gramps… can I have a word with you?" Natsu never asked, he would barge in and demand what he wanted, knowing Makarov had a soft spot for him. He stared at Natsu, the person standing in front of him was no child, he was a grown man, and his eyes showed seriousness, something he rarely got to see from his reckless child._

" _Leave us" Everyone nodded and left the room leaving Natsu and Makarov, the tension in the room was rising rapidly when Natsu spoke._

" _I need you to promise me something" Makarov huffed "And you think you are in a position to demand child? You withheld this from me!"_

_Natsu hissed and stared at him "Listen, I ain't joking here. I need you to promise me something and I won't leave this room until you do"_

" _Speak"_

" _I… if I go mad… If I lose myself… You need to…"_

" _You won't, we'll make sure of it"_

" _Gramps…" Makarov saw Natsu's eyes watering and it broke his heart a bit "Please just… just promise you will make sure I can't hurt anyone"_

" _What are you asking me to do Natsu?"_

" _Kill me if you need to…if it stops me from hurting them, from hurting her…"_

" _Do you understand what you are asking me to do?"_

" _I am… but I need you to understand something, IF I go mad… and I hurt any of them, and for some reason I come back from it… I won't forgive myself, if I do something like that then I won't want to live anyways. I can't go through this, I saw what this did to Elfman and Mira, and I just can't, I won't"_

" _Natsu!"_

" _JUST PROMISE GRAMPS"_

" _I… promise"_

He sat down on a table in the back thinking about the promise, he loved each and every single one of his children and thinking about ending one of them brought pain to his old soul. He had a few beers to get his mind off the current events, when he noticed Fairy Tail's most recent visitor chatting with Lisanna and Kinana who were covering the bar while Mira was gone.

"So Merryl, where are you from" Lisanna asked.

"Oh… Nowhere and everywhere you know?"

"But you're a wizard too right? You said you took a mission from your guild's request board, what guild are you from?"

"It's a really small one, nothing compared to Fairy Tail really, i-it's not a magic guild, we perform a variety of other services. It's boring really, even our guild mark is boring"

Kinana was curious about it and asked "How boring can it be? What it is?"

"Oh… it's just a silly owl"

Makarov's eyes widen in surprise; he had a bad feeling about her from the start, but right night he found himself wishing his old age was making him paranoid. He laid his beer down and stood up.

"Merryl, could you please join me in the back office"

Merryl hadn't even noticed he was there until he spoke; she felt shivers down her spine and gulped but still followed him behind the dark wooden door.

Makarov sat down behind the desk; he put his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his hands.

"Show me…"

"Well I heard you were a pervert but seriously…"

"This is not a request child, it's a demand… show me"

"Master Makarov, I hardly think that's necessary, I mean it's just a regular guild mark"

"You are in my house, you are staying under my roof, believe me when I tell you, there's no one left alive that has tried to mess with my children"

Merryl was scared; this was not the same man she had seen drinking and dancing in the guildhall, this was a man who had no fear, and that would shred her to pieces in a split second.

"Look, you are misunderstanding this situation, I never meant to…"

"You are going to stop lying to me right now child, because if I'm right, that is not a guild mark at all"

Merryl turned her face to the side; her shaky finger started undoing her buttons while her lip trembled. She slowly finished opening her shirt exposing the mark below her breast, a black owl.

"You brought a dark curse near my children! This is forbidden magic! You will regret the day you entered this guild Ms. Marlone, mark my words"

Makarov got a communication lacrima from his desk, but Merryl stopped his hand.

"Wait! This isn't mine, I'm not the bearer! Even if you get rid of me it won't solve anything, both of them will still be in danger, there's nothing we can do!"

Makarov laid the lacrima down and looked at her with an inquisitive look "both?"

"It was my job to get him away, he needed time to convince her, she is necessary for him to carry on with his family's legacy, a Celestial wizard, it had to be her, at any cost…"

He opened his drawers and got a fancy piece of paper from it, it had a broken wax seal and a pink ribbon; he laid it down and pointed his finger to it.

"So, this is no coincidence"

The paper was inscribed with beautiful golden foil and it read, "We are pleased to invite you to the celebration of Fukuro Tatsuma and Lucy Heartfilia's wedding. The event will take place is the Tatsuma manor at 8:30 evening on December 31st"


	6. Slow Poison

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Lucy and Natsu find themselves adjusting to their own realities without knowing about the other's struggles; When some friends get a glimpse of what fate awaits for Lucy, Erza makes a small discovery that could lead to a much larger problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I may be spacing the uploads a bit more since I didn't count the fact that I've been re written some of the chapters. Tomorrow I'm reviewing the one after this one, so hopefully I'll be able to upload Saturday at the latest. 
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.
> 
> \- Ernest Hemingway -

Lucy could feel winter getting stronger; the sky was lighter now, and the cold permeated through her window giving her goosebumps, she observed the leaves dying, slowly changing to brownish colors until they fell and cover the ground.

She had been an obligated guest in the manor for almost two months now, and oh… how had things change in that time. She hadn't lost her will yet, but the sadness that invaded her heart was sometimes too much to bare; not only was she away from her family and friends, but the image that she had constructed around her old friend was now long gone and replaced by the one of a heartless monster.

Lucy was of course, treated like a queen in the manor, however she was far from free… a princess in shackles, or locked in a tower like in those kid stories her mother avoided reading to her, because "her little girl didn't need a man to rescue her"; she felt ashamed… if only her mother knew how many times Natsu had to rescue her before.

She missed him so much; during this cold weather she could picture them sitting on her couch playing cards. She would pretend to be annoyed by his presence, but she would still snuggle to take advantage of his natural body heat, and he would let her because… she didn't know… maybe because that's the type of person he was, maybe because it was her… maybe-maybe-maybe.

She thought about her situation and knew that this time, she couldn't allow herself to be the princess, not if she wanted to protect him. Lucy's mind drifted away while observing the wind swing the fallen leaves from side to side, she remembered the conversation with Fukuro, and the house rules that were never to be broken if she was hoping to avoid the consequences.

" _Now that you will be staying here, there are some things I must ask of you Lulu"_

_She still had tiers on her eyes and couldn't avoid staring at Alice; she took a deep breath and was able to find her voice "You want to ask me for something? You've taken my ability to choose, what else can you ask for?"_

" _I know you are angry now, but with time you'll understand I am the only one that's worthy of you"_

_She almost laughed at him, worthy wasn't a word she would use to describe him at this point "Let's get something straight…I'm here because you are forcing me to be here, you are not even close to being worthy"_

" _But he is? Really… he is a dumb, immature, reckless, insensitive, and destructive prick! He is not from noble blood, he is nothing! And still… your biggest fear is to lose that piece of trash…"_

" _Don't you dare speak of him like that! You are not even half the man he is!" It all happened in a second… He stood up and kicked her chair to the floor causing her to hit her head; she hissed from pain, but she couldn't focus on that… no, not when she was having trouble breathing._

_His hands circled her neck and squeezed tightly, bruising her porcelain skin; she grabbed his wrists trying to remove him, but it was no use, he was using their position to overpower her and she couldn't lift her legs to kick him due to the chair. Lucy's sight grew darker by the second, and only then did he release the grip on of hand to press his fingers painfully against her chin._

" _You will be allowed to leave the property whenever you want, but you will stay inside the city and I'll need to know where you are all the time. Once I feel you have a real commitment to this, I will allow you to use magic again, I must warn you, this will change back if I get a bit suspicious. You will always hold my hand in public, you will look happy, you will love me. There's no frowning in public, I don't like the gossip that comes with it"_

_He let go of her and stood up; Lucy was coughing and holding her neck, and still she managed to respond with the snarkiest tone possible while still catching her breath "… anything… else? Basically…ah… I have to pretend to be happy… every day for the rest of my life… am I… missing something?"_

" _I don't want you to pretend Lulu… What type of Monster do you think I am? I want you to be happy, and I know you will only be happy with me, even if you can't see it yet"_

_She shook her head and tried to avoid the tears building in the corners of her eyes "I won't be happy… and there's nothing you can do to change that… you don't love me, if you really did you wouldn't be doing this"_

" _Let's agree to disagree, I believe the only reason I'm capable of doing this, of protecting you from the world, and yourself… is because of how much I love you… I hope you are able to see that someday"_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, "Hearthfilia-sama, breakfast is ready, Tatsuma-sama wants to know if you'll join him this morning"

"Of course" she smiled, "Please tell him I'll be downstairs shortly". She walked to her dressing room, and once again looked at the long line of puffy dresses she had avoided for so many years; she had gotten used to the stiffness and awkwardness once more, although the thought that this was once again her life still made her heart ache.

She ran her fingers through the fabric until she stopped on a sky-blue dress with a long sleeve; it had a white lace around her waist, and the ankle length skirt was embroidered with a beautiful floral pattern. She looked at herself in the mirror while fixing her hair up; she had started doing it automatically after he had mentioned several times how he preferred her hair like that. Lucy didn't have a desire to please him, but without realizing she had adjusted small things here and there, just as she had done with her father in the past.

One last look in the mirror, she thought to herself she did look a lot like her mother… the difference being her mother was braver than what she could possibly be. She walked down the stairs and joined her captor for breakfast.

"You look lovely this morning dear"

Lucy smiled lovingly "You've clearly not seen me right when I wake up, but I appreciate the sentiment"

The comment made him frown a bit "Well dear… you've made very clear you wish to keep your own room until after the wedding, although I don't see the purpose for it. We are getting married anyways so there's really no purpose in waiting"

She cradled his hand between hers "I'm sure you know why I want this, right? this started in the least traditional possible way, so there's nothing wrong with doing things the right way until it's official"

"Of course not, whatever you need… but you've never been keen on tradition Lu…"

For the first time in two months she gave him a stern look "It's what my parents… what my mother would have wanted Fukuro, anything else you would like to discuss?" She was putting her foot down, there was no room for discussion and he knew it; he even appreciated the fact she was slowly going back to her stubborn self.

Fukuro smiled before taking a sip of his tea "Actually yes…after breakfast I wanted to show you something if you are up for it"

Lucy nodded in agreement; she was glad that he didn't plan to pursue the matter further. In some level she knew… if he wanted to force her into his bed, the only thing he had to do was make a thread against her loved ones, but he wouldn't… he wanted her to love him and that was a limit she thought he wouldn't cross.

She was getting to know the manor little bit little, the personal was strict while Fukuro was in the house, but she made them warm up to her and were more relaxed when he wasn't home. After all, who could refuse the lovely smile and charm of Lucky Lucy Heartfilia.

Fukuro took Lucy's hand right after breakfast and led her to the impressive imperial staircase that had stolen her breath not too long ago; for her it had lost its appeal as soon as she became a prisoner.

They went up the stairs and took the hall all the way to the last door; Lucy had tried to open it before when inspecting the manor and despite her many attempts it had remained locked.

The door had no knob or keyhole, just a golden plaque that had proven to be useless for Lucy; Fukuro held his hand to the plaque and with a small click the door opened for them. For a minute she was angry at all the time she had spent trying to pry the door open.

The suspicious door revealed a small staircase behind it; she walked all the way up wondering what she would find, surely the headquarters for a dark guild, a cult, or bodies hanging everywhere… but to her surprise, the staircase led to the biggest library she had ever seen which connected to a beautiful terrace that occupied half of the manor's construction space.

Her eyes drifted between thousands of books and for a few seconds she allowed herself to get excited; before she could go around wondering, Fukuro grabbed her arm and pulled her to the crystal door connecting to the terrace; Lucy mouth opened at the sight, the place was filled with gorgeous flowers from side to side; their colors more varied than a rainbow, all perfectly trimmed and cared for.

She brushed her fingers against the petals and was immediately greeted by the scent, it was a mix of sweet and anguish, although she wasn't sure why.

"What are these?"

"Flowers of course, I care for them personally…It's my… private collection"

Lucy tilted her head in confusion "What's special about them?"

"All flowers are special depending on how you use them Lulu… my mother knew that very well and she started this… special garden. I would ask for you to wash your hands when we go downstairs and avoid touching your face"

"Amm… why?" Fukuro smiled once more "My garden is temperamental"

"And what do they do?"

"They rest peacefully and grace us with their presence… for now…" She made a mental note to investigate each one of those flowers at a later time, they seemed too beautiful to be unfriendly.

He held her hand and led her to the middle of the terrace where there was some sort of cement bench. She could see the artisanal job in the delicate details; small thin golden lines covering each fold of the intricate design. It was evident that the geometrical perfection of such design had a meaning, but once she looked at the full picture, she was able to tell the purpose was much bigger that anything she could fathom.

The cold cement bench was engraved with two golden circles, one inside the other, which then separated in twelve boxes, just like a clock; Lucy recognized the symbols in those boxes right away… Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn,Aquarius and Pisces; she ran her fingers through the zodiacs feeling nostalgic at how much he missed her friends.

"Why are these here?"

"To be worshiped by our family, to witness our union and bless it with their celestial power"

"I don't understand" He sat on the large bench and brushed his fingers on the center of the circle, she hadn't noticed the bright golden star inside it, and within it, a dark precious stone in the form of black owl.

"There is something we need to talk about Lulu… I already said I've always loved you and I would do anything to have you, but there's also a reason why it needed to be you"

She could tell Fukuro was measuring his words carefully; she sat down and decided to give him space to clear his thoughts.

"So, my family's mark has been passed from generation to generation, it has been kept secret from the council for centuries, they are…uneducated simple people; they persecuted the bearers of this mark and made them disappear after it was labeled as forbidden".

Things finally started to make more sense to her as he explained; this made clear why she'd never heard of that type of magic, and the reason why she never knew he was a wizard.

"This mark can only pass to the first-born male from the family and only IF that child is born from the union of a bearer and a celestial wizard"

She was frozen solid, took a few seconds to digest the information and simply asked "Why?"

"You've come a long way Lulu, but that's information that will have to wait. Now this place you see" he said while pointing at the cement bench "will be our wedding bed, this is the place our first-born will be conceived and delivered"

Lucy was speechless, she hadn't thought about that yet; she felt so stupid, for some reason she assumed since he wouldn't force her into anything she could just stall and things would get fixed. Now she knew… he was patiently waiting because this deal had an expiration date, and in her head a countdown clock started ticking.

They walked back to the library and she inspected the place slowly with her eyes, still too baffled to go back to the topic they had just discussed "Is it ok if you leave that door unlocked? I'd love to have access to this part of the house; my friend Levy and I used to go book hunting, she would die if she saw this place"

He could sense some nostalgia in her voice, he took a deep breath and for a small second thought of how overwhelming this was for her.

"Of course, this is after all your house. However, you need to promise to behave… If I see anything suspicious…" She laid her hand on his cheek, "I know", he leaned over and pressed his lips against hers, she put her arms around his neck and responded by kissing him back.

Laxus took a deep breath before yelling "Lighting Dragon's Roar!", a golden circle sparking with energy appeared above his face and when he released his breath, a deathly looking stream of lightning was shot at his adversary's direction.

He was immediately followed by Gray's attack from the other end of the training field "Ice-Make: Hammer!" Both the huge hammer and the lighting struck the ground causing the earth to shake, but once the dust cleared, Natsu was nowhere to be found.

The scream came from above their heads "Fire-Dragon Crushing Fang!" Natsu lit his left hand hit Gray, causing him to slam against Laxus leaving a flurry of flames in their wake.

Training was going as expected; the barrier made by Freed and Levy was containing most of the attacks but even a great trap would have to be replaced every round, after all when some of the strongest mages in the guild were fighting no one could expect things to be quiet or safe.

Makarov walked to the training area and observed while Laxus, Gray and Natsu made the earth tremble.

"I'm all fired up! Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!" a powerful torrent of flames rammed Gray and Laxus, causing the barrier to brake.

"Ok stop! Unless you are planning to burn down the forest, we need to take another break!" Levy yelled immediately to avoid the fight from continuing.

"Seriously flame-brain! Talking about over doing it…"

"Come on stripper! I'll show you what over doing it really means!"

"I thought I heard Levy ask for a break? Didn't she?" Makarov looked serious enough to cause them to quiet down. "It seems everything is going great, you look better"

"I feel great gramps! I'm ready!"

"That's great! We should have a little celebration; you have all worked hard. Let's go home for today, shall we?"

Makarov could tell Natsu was stronger than before, the magical power surrounding him was making more than one of his friends to take a step back when he trained and there were now only a handful of people that could keep up with him.

They all walked back to the guild and got the party started; Natsu finally looked in control, he hadn't had a nightmare since the training started, and he had become stronger, his senses had never been sharper, just like Gajeel said.

"Erza, Levy, Gajeel, Gray, I need to go over some council requests with you before we start"

Makarov walked with the smaller group to the basement, making sure they were far away from everyone else; he was sure the noise from the party will help muffle their voices, but he wasn't sure his children could keep things quiet.

"Gajeel… Would Natsu be able to hear us all the way over here?"

"He's gotten better… but I don't think he could unless we become extremely loud"

"Very well… please keep that in mind brats. I came across some delicate information that needs to be discussed"

Everyone looked at each other trying to guess what Makarov was going to explain, it wasn't common for the old man to look as worried as he did.

"You are all here for a very specific reason, and this is to control the situation before it explodes on our faces"

Erza was now a bit worried "What's going on?"

Makarov took a deep breath, and looked over his shoulder "You can come out now Merryl"

A shaky figure came out of one of the aisles, she wasn't sure how to explain or how to start this conversation, she could feel the looks piercing through her skull and knew this could go very bad for her if she wasn't careful.

"I… work for a man, he has this magic… it can be used for great bliss but also for incredible torture, the bearers of this magic only need to touch your skin once; after that they gain power over you, they can make your worst fear a reality and they use it to get what they want"

Erza waived her hand disregarding it as regular business, "Fine, so we'll find them and give them to the council! We've faced worse"

"In order for his family's legacy to continue, the bearer needs to have a first-born male he can pass the mark to" she hesitated a bit, and tried to think of any way out of this scenario but her mind was blank…

Merryl looked at Makarov who intervened before she could proceed, "what you are about to hear can't leave this room until we figure out a plan, we don't want to make things worse. You'll need to lie to your friends, to pretend things are great, it won't matter how you feel about it. If you can't promise this then the moment to leave is now, after this it will be too late"

The Master nodded at Merryl, she took a deep breath and continued.

"There are 2 types of mark, the mark can be there without being visible and that gives access to your deepest thoughts, a visible mark will also give him the ability to block your magic, making it impossible for you to fight back"

Gray looked at her digesting the information "So how much of a challenge will this be? Has this been reported yet?"

Makarov replied to his question "It's not just that simple, this family has deep connections and is very well positioned in society; most people don't know they possess magic"

"That's not all…the child needs to be blessed by a blood moon, and come from the union of a bearer… and… a Celestial Mage"

Everyone trembled at what this would mean, they finally understood the secrecy of it all, after all with Natsu barely being able to control himself, this could easily backfire.

"You are here for a reason. Erza you are probably one of the few Natsu listens to, Levy is Lucy's best friend, Gajeel, you've helped tremendously with Natsu getting control and you can also help hold him back if needed, and Gray whether you two kids like it or not, you are his best friend"

"We need to get Lucy! She possesses most of the golden keys, she is in great danger" Levy couldn't imagine leaving her friend alone in this situation and her eyes started watering.

"I'm afraid there's nothing you can do, I have the mark myself and I grew up seeing what it could do to people, it is too powerful"

"Merryl, if you please, show them your mark"

She pulled her shirt up revealing the owl below her breast.

Erza wasn't sure but that was very familiar "I've seen that before…"

Makarov got the guild's wedding invitation from his pocket and laid it in front of them. Once he turned it, they could see a golden owl engraved on it.

Levy's tears became more visible "When did you receive this Master?"

"About 3 days ago…"

"Why didn't you tell us about this? We haven't heard from her in 2 months and this is the only thing we get?" Levy was visibly annoyed, she would have kept on going but Makarov raised his hand to ask her to stop.

Merryl took a deep breath; she thought to herself this one might be the last she would be able to take.

"It was my job, to take Natsu away so she could be easier to handle. It's too late, she's been marked"

It took less than a second, before she could finish her thought; she was pinned to the wall, hands above her head covered in ice, feet frozen solid, a large metal sword slightly touching her neck causing a thin ruby red thread to drip slowly to her chest. Her eyes were wide open, she stuttered to try to complete a sentence but was immediately cut off.

"This was your plan all along?! To help a monster kidnap our friend! And then you came here, to make sure it went according to your plan! You must not know who we are" Gray was panting from anger.

Erza was still holding her sword against her when she heard Makarov's voice in the back, "this won't help, right now she is our only way of finding out more about this"

Gray and Erza took a step back removing her iced restrains.

Gajeel took a look at Levy, she was crying silently. He put his hand on her shoulder gently "Hey short-stuff, I think you should go outside now"

Levy turned to him with the angriest look he'd seen on her, she slapped his hand off her shoulder "You always think I can't handle anything, you didn't let me train, you don't want me to stay, I guess is pretty clear what you think of my abilities"

He thought about apologizing but how could he explain, he knew her, she wasn't going to stay out of it; he had discovered that when it came to Levy he had a natural ability to fall in verbal quicksand, and saying anything right now would be the equivalent of attempting to swim in it.

He was deathly scared about her getting hurt, he couldn't tell her that if something happened to her, then nothing would be able to bring him back from the dark pit his soul would fall into. He crossed his arms on his chest and faced front without saying a word.

Levy stood up and walked towards Merryl still with tears going down her face, her small fists were clenched tightly. To everyone's surprise, she suddenly took a swing at Merryl and punched her face so hard that it made the redhead fall on her ass. Levy tried to hide the pain this caused her hand and just shook it a bit.

Erza kept looking at the paper and then it hit her "We need to check all our mission papers for the last few months! I know where I've seen this, the request board!"

The general feeling in the room would be best described as falling off a cliff, a nod built up in everyone's stomachs; everyone had taken something out of the request board at some point, had any of them met their enemy before? had any of their friends been unknowingly marked?

* * *

It didn't take long for Lucy to make her way to the library, she ran her fingers through the thousands of books at her reach and for once she actually smiled; this was probably the only thing that could provide her with some peace, and maybe just maybe… she could get some inspiration out of one of the books.

She found several stories she wanted to keep, probably wouldn't help but she couldn't stop herself; she had found a very particular shelf that seem to have the oldest books, some referring to Dragons, some to Celestial magic, the council's creation and history, she had also got ahold of some botanic books to ease her curiosity on the "temperamental" flowers kept by Fukuro.

Lucy walked to the terrace which was still open, she was about to sit on the cement bed when she remembered its purpose, she flinched and frowned before decided she didn't mind standing; one thing she wanted more than anything was to get that thought of her head.

She opened the book and swept page by page looking at the pictures in order to match them to the precious flowers. Lucy finally found one she recognized, it was a white flower that looked like an upside down long flowy skirt with purple streaks inside; she brushed her fingers against its petals before she started reading "Ok, here we go…Datura contains lethal hallucinogens and poison making it illegal in many countries, it's deathly alkaloids are commonly used for murderous purposes" She widen her eyes before rubbing her hand on her skirt just to get rid of the sensation.

"Ok… ok… relax, just don't touch your face…" she kept looking though the pages when she found the next one, a delicate flower with red petals and black filaments, she decided against touching this time and continued with her reading "Oh ok so this is Opium… wait what?..." She had heard of it before of course, but didn't actually know it came from such a beautiful flower "Processed to make heroin? Highly addictive? Damn… what is he doing with these?"

There wasn't one flower in that place that was just meant to be beautiful… she had classified them in two categories, the ones meant to either throw quite a party or make someone mad which were Datura and Opium; and the ones meant to kill someone by stopping their heart, breathing, or both, which were Autumn Crocus, and A Trope Bella Dona

She went back into the library and sat in a purple duvet; every flower had a nasty purpose there and she had to be careful, just a small dose of that could cause trouble. Lucy decided to take her mind of it for a while and picked another very old book she had kept aside out of curiosity.

It was covered in a material that was extremely soft but scaly at the same time, she rubbed it with her fingers thinking she had felt that before somewhere, it didn't have a title on the cover but once she opened it all made sense… the first page had a drawing of an immense Dragon spreading his wings.

The cover had the same texture than Natsu's scarf with the difference that this was stiff and tight around the book making it visibly more like leather; she knew in that moment it was made with Dragon scales. She opened the book but to her surprise, the language was too old for her to understand; she decided to focus on the drawings that represented different dragons.

She got to a page that caught her attention, it had to be unfolded since the drawing was so large. On the left side there was a dark figure, it resembled a human with dark hair and all the colors around him were dull and opaque, as her eyes moved to the right, she noticed the colors got brighter; right in the middle of the drawing a village could be seen, devastated and burned, it looked as it there was people trying to fight; Lucy looked at the right side of the drawing to find a group of dragons summoning their magic, being led by a big, red, fire spitting Dragon.

She rubbed the picture with her thumb thinking about Natsu, wondering if this would be a picture of his father or if he would even be able to understand this book.

The next page was also Filled with what she could only consider gibberish, and the drawing was simple black and white design. The silhouette of a Dragon made with the black ink, its wings weren't spread but made as if it was cradling something represented by an inkless space "It looks like an egg" she got closer to the book to discover the small details in the ink, it was obviously handmade and you could even see the white thin lines representing the spacing of the Dragon scales. She noticed the inkless space of the egg wasn't fully empty, in a lighter grayish color she could see a shape inside the egg, it didn't look like a Dragon; it had no wings, and she could see two arms and legs.

"I should show this to Natsu!" suddenly her chest felt as if a grand piano was pressing it, she was scared of not being able to go back home, of never seeing him again; she knew he was strong, probably the strongest of all, but deep inside he was just a sweet boy that had been left alone for far too long.

She held the book to her chest and harden her stare, she felt a new sense of determination invading every sense of her body. Lucy knew then, she would do anything to save him, and life would eventually lead her to him because for her, he was home.


	7. No Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A deeper into the missions reveals some concerning information creating immediate conflict, this conflict leads to a moment of courage for one of FT favorite pairings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this chapter contains smut, not too long, not too much, but it does. So the first lemon I ever wrote is in this story (Ch 24) which is lengthier than this one, but once I rewrote this chapter I thought it was unfair to not include one here taking in consideration this was this contains the first "A HA!" moment in this story (Romantic-wise at least) 
> 
> Also I did my best to finish this one today, not sure if I'll finish re writing Ch 8 tomorrow but I'll try. FYI this story is also in fanfiction.net under the same username I have here.
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> "That if desperate times call for desperate measures, then I'm free to act as desperately as I wish."   
> ― Suzanne Collins, Catching Fire

There had never been a more focused group of mages going through paperwork at Fairy tail; every single mission request had been taken out of storage and laid on a table in the basement for its review; they were all separated by months and analyzed for variations and similarities.

After several hours, sore eyes and paper cuts, they had finally found most pieces of paper with a seal that resembled an owl, the missions varied in difficulty level, location, reward and seriousness.

From recovering a manuscript, containing a curse, helping rebuild a dam, plowing a field; you would have never guessed these were related. The list went on and on and dated at least 6 months before Lucy left Fairy tail.

"Ok, so this is it… these are all the mission that could have been in contact with that curse…" Levy looked nervous, she kept rearranging the pages and tapping them on the table as if to keep them straight.

"Ok, let's have it then Shrimp…"

Levy took a deep breath before going page by page and listing the names "Alzack and Bisca, Mest, Macao, Laxus…" she stopped and bit her lip "G-Gray and Juvia, Erza… G-Gajeel… and Natsu…"

There was silence in the room, Erza Gray and Gajeel were part of the list and it was impossible not to feel as if they were always caught in the middle of some's psychos plan.

"Well then, it doesn't seem that there was a set plan to curse other people… it looks random to me" Gray was trying to shake the awkwardness by focusing on the task in hand.

"Indeed, it does, but what it the plan was exactly that?"

"What? make it so random so we wouldn't suspect? If they wanted that they could have skipped the stupid owl seal, don't ya think?"

Another moment of silence allowed the people in the room to wonder what exactly could be used against them; they were strong, capable and determined… but fearless? everyone was afraid of something, but did they really know what scared them the most? This individual monologue went on in their minds until Levy's voice interrupted their train of thought.

"There's needs to be a pattern for this" she put the tip of her pen in her mouth and frowned, she was so focused you could almost see her thoughts. Gajeel couldn't help to think on how cute she looked.

Levy turned to him still pretty mad about before "What?!" Gajeel immediately turned around, "Don't think so hard shrimp, your tiny body could explode" She puffed her cheeks and turned her face away from him.

Levy had used one of the special pens to write on the air around them and make an extremely complicated map with all the theories and ideas, but none of them seem to match. They were at if for hours until suddenly while rearranging the papers something clicked inside Levy's head; she called everyone back to hear what they thought.

"This is a wild guess, but I think at first he was fishing, planning it out would had left a trail of some sort. We can't know for sure if any of them have been marked or not, but I really think at least Natsu is… "

Gray nodded in agreement "Well I would guess that much, it would make sense to break them apart in order to get Lucy"

"Not only that, look at the dates for these missions, the one Natsu went on was almost at the end of July"

While everyone was trying to connect the dots, Gajeel finally understood what had been happening "So that's around the time his nightmare started"

"Correct! I do think that is just a coincidence that Natsu's change stage overlapped with it, Gajeel you said yourself it was not the same as you've seen before, so this could be it"

"Well this is all very interesting, but it tells us nothing about how to solve it"

"Oi Ice Princess! At least Shrimp's got something, what have you discovered so far?"

"Shut it Gajeel! I'm trying… I just... Look we can't lie to him anymore, he is counting days until the 3-month deadline, he said he'll go bring her back if she is not here by then…"

"Gray is right Master, we need to find a way to talk to him" Erza couldn't bear to keep this from him anymore.

"No, we can't tell him the truth yet" They all stared back as if thinking they have heard wrong or this was an elaborate joke "he will storm out and put both in danger, we need to play along. We will tell him about Lucy's wedding, we may need to contain him, but it won't be as bad as if he knows she is in danger"

Everyone was baffled at Levy's comment, "He is our friend Levy! For how long do you expect us to keep this up?!" Erza was so angry at her, she slammed her fists on the table.

"This is going to break him Levy! He trusts us, don't you know that… he will think she left for good, only to find out we allowed this, and we lied to him in the process…"

"I'm not sure how long we will need to keep it up… I'll have to pay her a visit with the excuse of her wedding; I need you guys to wait to talk to him until then, that'll win me some time, whatever the case maybe he needs to think she is marrying out of love"

Gajeel felt it like a knife going down his throat "Are you out of your fucking mind! You will not put yourself in danger!"

She simply rolled his eyes and started picking her things from the table "Shrimp! I'm talking to you! This is not happening"

Levy slammed her things back on the table and looked at him with not only anger but deep pain "This is not your choice! I've made up my mind and last I check I didn't have to ask for your permission Gajeel"

"I don't care if your pride is bruised Levy! You can hate me all you want! I will fucking lock you in the basement with that red hair trash if I have to, do you understand?!" He slammed the chair before leaving and walked away cursing at everything on his way.

He walked for a while trying to clear his thoughts, "This is probably my fault, I keep trying to keep her away from danger and there she goes running towards it, stupid girl…" he growled in frustration "Why does she have to be so stubborn!"

Gajeel kicked his door open and was greeted by Lily which used his best sarcastic tone after looking at his friend's angry face "Did you have a good day?"

"Shut it cat… I'm not in the mood" The black exceed shook his head "If I stopped talking to you every time you were in a bad mood, then we would never talk"

"Mnm… Levy…" Lily made a small O with his mouth and nodded "Did you get her mad again?"

Gajeel pulled his hair "WHY DO YOU ALWAYS ASSUME I MADE HER MAD? SHRIMP GOT ME MAD! SHE IS AS STUBBORN AS SHE IS SMALL, I TELL YOU!"

"Right… ok, so why don't you cool off and go talk to her? You know you can't leave things like that" The dragon slayer mumbled something unintelligibly causing lily to take a deep breath "Fine, sulk all you want, I'm going with Happy and Carla"

After Lily left, Gajeel went up to his room to change when he heard a knock on the door; he sniffed once and recognized the scent right away, ink, paper, and flowers... he already knew who it was, his nose wouldn't lie to him.

He opened the door without looking and stated in a very serious tone "You know you just made it very easy for me to lock you up"

"Probably, but I didn't want things to end the way they did, and I know you are too much of a jerk to apologize first"

Gajeel moved from the door signaling her to come in and led her to the dark big couch from his living room.

"Hey shorty, do you want a beer?"

"I'm not a big drinker really, but I guess if there was ever a time"

He came back with two beer bottles and gave one to Levy; after he gulped half of it down, he asked without turning his face towards her "Did you finally change your mind?"

"I didn't, I still think we need to do something, but I understand putting myself in danger won't fix anything" it was obvious she was nervous by the way her fingers were removing the beer tag little by little.

He saw her there, wearing her short orange dress with the white bow on the top, her hair band holding her blue locks, she was wearing those long boots all the way to her tight…he felt his heart ache. Just to think about losing her was too much to bear.

"Of course, it wouldn't fix anything… you are so small people wouldn't even notice you are there shorty"

"Stupid Gajeel!" He laughed at her once more and she kept calling him stupid while punching his chest, this was what they did all the time and he felt some sort of comfort.

At some point they changed the topics and talked about nothing and everything, mostly Levy doing the talking and Gajeel nodding in understanding, he just loved listening to her talk about the things she liked with such passion, he had never felt like that about anything until he joined Fairy Tail.

"Shrimp is kind of late for you to walk back; you can stay here…If you want"

"Sure, I have some reading to catch up on, do you mind?

"Nah not at all, I'll stay on the couch, you can take my room, is the first door on the left. You can… get a shirt from my closet if you want to be more comfortable"

She nodded and went up the stairs until she found his room; it did not surprise her at all… A black steel door that led to one of the biggest beds she had seen, it had a bunch of blankets, covers and pillows above all in dark gray, black, and blue; in one corner there were hundreds of metal pieces and scraps, and on the other side of the room there were what seemed to be random items and papers; she wasn't surprised… Dragons were hoarders by nature, and she knew Natsu had something similar in his house.

What did surprise her was how many of those items she recognized, there was a piece of cloth that had once been a hair band that got torn apart during battle, a rubber band she had given him to tame his hair during a visit to the council, papers from some missions they had taken together… so many memories; she felt that warm feeling on her chest, this man was her fear and her excitement.

Levy walked to his closet and got one of the many black shirts he had there, it was enormous on her, but she was definitely more comfortable. She laid on his bed and smelled his pillow -Wow… when did I become such a creep…-

She got her book and got through a chapter before closing it and looking at the ceiling wondering what to do… no, there was no time for doubts, her best friend was in danger and she was not going to stand there and watch it happen. Levy considered the possibilities… she would take a train and go, and that could possibly be the last thing she did with her life…

She stood up with determination, if this is how things were ending, she was leaving with a bang, and if this was not the end but the beginning… she was starting with a firm step. She looked at her reflection in the middle and pucked her lips "Well… if there was ever a time… Toughen up Levy McGarden"

Levy turned on her heel with her hands fisted on her sides, she grabbed the rail and went downstairs with quiet feet until she was standing behind the couch where Gajeel was sleeping soundly; his messy hair covering his eyes, his shirt a bit lifted revealing his well-shaped abs.

Levy found a small space in the corner on the couch and sat down without saying a thing, she just held her legs to her chest and breathed heavily; he felt the weight shift on the couch and woke up confused and groggy. Gajeel was concerned to see Levy sitting there, he thought something had to be wrong.

He looked up to see her looking even smaller than usual, she was wearing one of his shirts which on her looked more like a baggy dress, however in the position she was in, it barely covered her enough for his eyes not to wonder.

"What's wrong Shrimp?"

"Gajeel do you have any regrets?"

He laid his head back on the couch and covered his face with his hand. He wasn't really awake and struggled to keep his eyes open "What type of regrets?"

She shrugged and rested her chin on her knees "You know… regrets… in life, things you would wish you could have done…"

"Nah... I mean, what's done is done Lev…"

"Mhm… you are such a liar" He huffed through his nose "Am not...nothing burns my conscious… almost nothing…"

"Oh?" He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands "Fine I have a couple regrets...but like I said, what's done is done"

"Do you have any fears?"

"I'm fearless shrimp; no one can take me out…"

"What's a thing you regret?" he was annoyed by the question, Gajeel hated she didn't know the answer to it, but he figured he owed her at least that "How we met… I regret how we met"

"You know… you've paid for that one time too many… It's about time you let it go"

"Not happening… even after that, you were one of the firsts to forgive me, to… include me in everything and make me feel like maybe I could belong… I'll never repay any of that"

Gajeel didn't hear a response back and he assumed she had fallen asleep; he felt the weight shift and when his eyes moved down, he saw her slowly moving towards him "What ya doing Shrimp?" Levy curled up between him and the couch and laid her head on his chest; she let her hand rest on his stomach and settled in her new comfortable spot.

His heart was pounding hard, he felt blood rushing to his face; he thought maybe this was a dream, he would wake up to find himself alone and panting on his couch, because there was no way in hell the woman of his dreams was comfortably using him as a body pillow. He looked down to see her, a few tears were running down her face and his hand immediately went to her chin to tilt her head up.

"Levy…?"

"I don't want to have any fears or regrets… life is too short to be afraid Gajeel" She pulled herself up until her lips were so close he could feel her warm breath, he felt his heart beating so fast he felt it could come out of his chest and the smell of ink, paper and flowers he had gotten so used to was so intoxicating that he could taste it through the air.

He was too shocked to move, and she didn't wait before stealing the last few inches of air between them to close the gap with a sweet kiss.

Gajeel was lost now, too far gone inside his own dream becoming true; he knew he could never let her go after this. The kiss intensified little bit little, Gajeel pushed his tongue inside her mouth and she accepted it without a second thought.

His senses were focused on her soft tongue running circles in his mouth, her taste, her smell and the way his shorts felt tighter than before; Gajeel was so focused on her lips that his instinct took over his hands that slowly made their way under Levy's shirt and caressed her back, he was lost in the softness of her skin.

A small moan left her mouth and woke him from the trance "Lev, you gotta stop…"

Levy did stop and sat back in her place and fisted her hands trying to look tough, "I'm sorry, I didn't want to put you in an awkward situation, I know you don't like me like that…"

Gajeel just stared at her in amazement, how the hell could the smartest woman he had ever met be so incredibly clueless.

"Just please forget about this ok?" She smiled before turning away to hide her face. Before she could even think about leaving Gajeel grabbed the back of her head and kissed her.

"Silly shrimp… how can I?"

He kissed her again, still with his fingers tangled on her hair, his other hand made its way to her waist and pulled her towards him while his kiss pushed her head towards the couch, he slid his hands below her shirt when he noticed she was shaking.

"Do you want me to stop?"

She shook her hand and raised her arms. He knew this was something new for her and was determined to take his time to make her understand how much he wanted her. Gajeel slowly removed her shirt and tossed it to the ground before letting his eyes memorize her body.

"Y-you are staring!" She was blushing, and he thought that was the cutest thing he had seen in his life "Dammit Shrimp… how could I now? You are fucking perfect"

Levy felt self-conscious about her body, she had spent her entire life surrounded by model quality women, gorgeous, with perfect silhouettes that sold thousands of magazines when appearing in the covers; she looked away and instinctively covered herself.

"You don't have to do this just because I want to Gajeel… I know there are probably other women you could be interested in…"

"You crazy?" He looked almost offended at her statement "Why would I want any of those women over you?" her mouth was slightly open and there were a few tears on her eyes. He supported his weight as best he could and started placing open mouthed kisses on her shoulder, then her neck; she stopped thinking and moved her hands to the back of his head pulling his hair with strength.

**XXX- Stop reading here if you are underage or not into this type of writing - XXX**

His hand traveled to her perky breasts and flicked her nipple earning him a soft humming sound; he smiled while still kissing her neck before pinching her nipple with his index and thumb and pulling a little making her moan harder this time. Gajeel was determined to make sure he kissed every inch of her skin, and to touch every part of her body.

He licked from her shoulder to her neck before lowering his mouth little by little and going back up "Stop… teasing…" He grinned and hooked his arms on her back; he pulled her up on the couch leaving her upper back to lay on the arm rest before pinching her nipple with his teeth; she grabbed his hair and pulled him closer to her while arching her back.

The smell of her arousal was taking over his senses and he almost went on overdrive; he pushed her farther up and now her waist was laying on the armrest of the couch and her upper body was outside of it, she tried to pull herself up when he ripped her panties off her body and brushed his tongue on her slit sending shivers through her body.

Levy moaned his name harder and harder with each stroke of his tongue. He reached for her ass and pulled her hips up before using his tongue to roll circles on her entrance and inserting it mercilessly over and over; she almost screaming at this point and then when he exchanged his tongue with his fingers and sucked on her pink button she couldn't hold back anymore. He felt her walls clenching on his fingers and he licked her until her orgasm was over.

Gajeel sat down and cleaned himself with the back of his hand before observing his work. She was completely limp, her back arched on the armrest in an impossible way with her body hanging outside of the couch, her soft hands laying almost all the way down to the floor; her legs were still sprawled open in front of him, she was completely out of breath and the blush went all the way to her chest.

Once she was able to sit up, she looked at his smug expression and shook her head; he was about to laugh when he noticed the look on her face… he knew that look, this woman was about to cause trouble and he could only gulp.

Without the shyness that was present before she pulled his boxers down just enough for this hard member to be released; she was a bit startled but the look on his face and the blush of his cheeks made up for it. He stretched her hand and brushed her thumb on the tip of his member causing her to growl and bite his lip.

Levy brushed her fingers up and down enjoying the way he shivered at her touch "F-fuck Levy… who's teasing now…" He had barely finished saying those when she covered him with her hand and pumped him harshly; Gajeel closed his eyes and rested his head on the back of the couch while moaning her name.

He still had his eyes closed when he felt her lick his tip and his eyes shot wide open; her blue hair on his lap while her soft tongue discovered him little by little; she took a deep breath and took him in her mouth, not going all the way the first time; she bobbed her head a couple of times taking more of him every time when she felt him grab the back of her head and following her movements.

It was becoming too much for him and he knew if he wasn't careful, he would finish soon, and he wasn't planning on leaving this score even "Stop Shrimp"

She pushed herself up and stared at him "Did I do something wrong?" he huffed "You were doing it too well…" she blushed and giggled, she wanted to go further with him, she was ready… She kneeled on the couch before moving to straddle him and sitting on his lap.

"S-shrimp… I don't want to hurt you"

"You could never hurt me… stupid Gajeel…" She kissed him passionately and he let his hands caress her back before lowering them to her butt and squeezing.

"Woman… what the hell are you doing to me?" she moved a bit to be exactly above him and positioned him at her entrance; he grabbed himself moving her hand away and rubbed his member on her folds "You can still change your mind ya know?" she shook her head and moved down a little feeling him stretch her walls.

She took her time, trying to avoid as much of the pain as possible, although with her controlling the movement and speed it was much less painful that what she imagined; she took a minute to adjust before pulling herself up again; she saw his face… mouth slightly open, eyes close and practically frowning in concentration; she went down again and continued with a steady rhythm until he got ahold of her hips and started moving her faster; she gasped and moaned, her head was starting to get dizzy, and when she leaned back a bit she felt his arm on her back to steady her before pulling her hips back touching a special spot inside her that made her yell his name.

It only took a few more minutes for her to finish with him inside her, her walls clenching around his hardness, he pulled her towards him while she rode her orgasm and it was enough to make him come undone.

**XXX - Continue reading after this point - XXX**

She was resting on his chest, still catching her breath. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to have found someone like her, without judgment or malice, someone who saw him for who he was and still was by his side. They were both in pure bliss and he allowed himself to close his eyes and relax with the love of his life resting above him on the couch.

He woke up close to 10; the house was empty. Levy's things were not on the table anymore, in their place there was a white envelope.

"No, no, no no… What the fuck did you do…" He opened the envelope with shaky hands and unfolded the white sheet of paper.

"Gajeel,

There were many things I was afraid of before today, I was afraid of taking what I wanted, of facing things alone.

Today I have no regrets nor fears, you have made me stronger and there is no better way to face what's coming our way.

Do not be angry at me, my mind was made since the start. I was afraid of you breaking my heart, to laugh at me for wanting something I could not have. Today I am fearless because I know I will never be alone, you are always in my mind.

I never knew true love was possible until I met you… I love you more than what words can express.

Yours forever, Levy"

His felt ice going through his veins, he barely got dressed and ran to the guild, but she had been gone for hours. He was ready to go after her but was stopped by the Master himself.

"Where do you think you are going?"

"Get out of my way old man! I'm bringing her back!" dark scales on his arm alerted a few of the guild members who took a step back wondering what was happening.

"If you go after her you would be signing her death sentence. If you were marked, then as soon as you get close, he'll sense your fear and end her"

The words felt like a wrecking ball, he was afraid of losing her, and that fear could cost her life. If he didn't follow, never seeing her again was a possibility, but following her could cause him to lose her forever.

Erza got close enough to him and laid her hand on his shoulder "You know her; she is the smartest person we know right? Believe that she would never take an unplanned step, you have to trust her, if you are afraid, that will only make her a target"

He suddenly realized, she wasn't clueless, he was. She didn't want regrets or fears in her mind, she wanted to leave peacefully, she wanted to say goodbye in case that was the last time she saw him.


	8. Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levy does a surprise visit and tries to shift the scales enough to move on with her plan, they are ready to figure out a way out of this situation. Once the guild knows the gears have started moving, they decide it's time to tell Natsu some information, which may not work out for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Sorry it took me longer than usual, I had to write CH 25 and work on the details and also had a hell of a week at work, but anyways! I'll try to edit the other one this week.
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> "No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side...Or you don't."
> 
> ― Stephen King, The Stand

Levy's train ride gave her plenty of time to think, she had a confusing mix of emotions varying from guilt, to sadness and fear.

She knew Gajeel would be angry, she felt bad for leaving things like that specially after what happened between them; just the thought caused her cheeks to pink up.

She was sure that at this point, he had figured out there was no way to follow her without making things worse, she had made sure of it… she knew whether he loved her or not, he appreciated her as a partner and so he couldn't risk following her and causing her death, she also knew she had been selfish by dropping all her fears and feeling on him before leaving him alone in bed, and she was aware that if she survived this, she would have to deal with the consequences.

"No, I don't regret it" she thought to herself, "I'm doing this because I know I have to, I'm not afraid. I don't fear losing him because whatever comes, he'll never leave my heart. I'm not afraid because I blindly trust my friends" that single sentence had become her mantra, and she kept making it ripple inside her hear; she felt good about her decisions although that didn't mean they were easy to make. She took a nap all the way to her destination; after all, she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before.

Levy was awoken by a clerk once the train had stopped; she left the train and inspected the white piece of paper with the address on it. She walked through town enjoying the view of the place; it was clean and colorful and just by the architecture of the buildings one could tell that the town had spared no expense on their improvements. Trees and flower bushes adorned the streets, the floors were made of a flat polished gray rock that made all the colors seem brighter, the stores on the sides were inviting and she wished she could have visited the place under different circumstances.

She stopped at a small store to get directions, and the clerk almost seemed confused when looking at the address "You can't miss it, go straight ahead until the big gate, although I must warn you that you'll need a formal invite to get in" she smiled at him and nodded before leaving the store, she knew if Lucy was there she had an open invite to see her friend.

She finally arrived at the enormous metallic gate and lingered a bit to inspect it and she saw right away the irony of the inscription  _Timor autem pertinet ad infirma_ , "Fear belongs to the weak… we'll see about that". She was quite impressed with the construction itself, the property size and decoration were breathtaking and very similar to the ones from town, it didn't take her much to figure out he probably had something to do with that as well.

* * *

"Tatsuma-sama, there's a woman at the gate requesting permission to enter the property"

"Well then send her away, we do not let people in… ever, have you forgotten about that?" the young maid lowered her face in embarrassment "I'm sorry Sir, she said she knows Heartfilia-sama and demanded to speak to her at once"

Fukuro turned to Lucy and kept observing her while asking the obvious question "Did this surprise visitor give a name?"

"Yes Sir, she said her name was Levy McGarden, from Fairy Tail" Fukuro narrowed his eyes and kept his stare on Lucy who had lost all color on her face. "What's the meaning of this…I thought I was very clear about the conditions for visitors"

"I don't know what she is doing here, I swear I didn't know"

Fukuro did not like unexpected guests, he had always been a bit to attach to routines and plans and having someone unknown to him disrupt that was upsetting, however, after thinking about it he knew this could only work for his advantage.

He gave Lucy that terrifying grin she had gotten used to over the last couple of months, and she shivered "Well, we can't keep guests outside, can we? That wouldn't speak well of us as hosts. After all I would love to get to know your best friend"

Lucy smiled and nodded but deep inside she knew, he wanted to give her more to lose; losing Natsu or Levy would be devastating for her, but losing both…she couldn't think about that, not now.

"Please welcome her and take her bags to one of the visitor's rooms and bring an extra placing so she can join us" Lucy clenched her fists underneath the table, her hands got sweaty and she put all her energy into looking as if nothing was happening.

It didn't take long for Levy to be welcomed in the house and directed to the table where Fukuro and Lucy were waiting for her. She walked in both hands on her back and with a huge sweet smile; Fukuro extended his hand to greet her and Lucy's heart stop for a second knowing exactly what he was planning to do.

"I'm happy to finally meet you Ms. McGarden, I've heard so much about you" his smile got even wider almost to the point of showing his teeth, he felt the rush of energy he always got when branding someone as cattle… and this was not anyone, this was one that held a special place in Lucy's heart.

Levy's smile got bigger too, "Oh please! Call me Levy" she extended her hand to greet him and his grin flattened a bit when he noticed; her hands was covered by a beautiful pair of satin elbow length gloves. Lucy wanted to jump from her sit and scream victorious; but on the outside she kept looking just happy about her friends visit.

As soon as they released each other's hands, Lucy jumped Levy and hugged her tightly.

"What are you doing here? I've missed you so much!"

"Well you didn't seriously think I was going to get a wedding invite and sit on it right?"

They sat down for lunch and enjoyed a casual conversation, Fukuro asked about their missions, and the guild. Levy kept calm, she was laughing and joking with Lucy just as if she knew nothing of what her friend was experiencing; she assumed Fukuro had all the information he needed from every guild member, but she kept her answers general to avoid giving too much information.

"Oh Lucy! You have to come back home for a few days, everyone misses you so much and we were all so surprised to hear about the wedding"

Before Lucy could respond Fukuro cut her off "We are very busy with the wedding planning Ms. McGarden, I'm sure you understand"

"Levy, please" she smiled politely, "Well I just thought you'd like to have a bachelorette party with all the girls! Also, there were some people talking about a farewell party for Lucy before she starts her new life"

"Well isn't that nice…"

"Yeah, they really want to see her before the wedding, knowing them they'll probably decide to barge in and have it here, that's what family does after all" Levy laughed, "we've never been the type of people to sit back and relax, but I guess that's why Lu loves us so much"

Lucy tried to hide her nervousness with laughter "Who exactly would plan such a thing Lev?"

"Oh well, of course the entire guild is unstoppable so that's happening. But we know for sure Sting and Rogue will want to bring all of Sabretooth, of course Sherria will come with Lyon, hopefully Jura-san will want to join, and our course the Master will insist on inviting Warrod-sama …"

And there it was… in Levy's mind, she was playing chez, and her next step couldn't be taken until she figured out his next 10. She was aware that playing an open and risky game could have consequences but was far more interested in making up his character.

"Wow, well I didn't know Lucy had so many friends in higher spheres; guild Masters, former council members, it's seems dear you are very well connected"

"Fukuro-san, Fairy tail has always been happy to cooperate with other guilds and although the council has not always been… a fan of our methods, they do pay a lot of attention to us. We've made many friends throughout the years. When Fairy tail builds a friendship, we never let it go" Her last remark sounded a bit snarkier that intended, but thankfully, she wasn't considered a thread, so it went unnoticed.

Fukuro's smile disappeared completely, "We can discuss it later then, we wouldn't want to disappoint such important friends. If you excuse me ladies, I need to attend a few businesses in town. Ms… My apologies, Levy, make yourself at home, Vincent will be at Lucy's disposal as usual to take you girls anywhere you want"

He walked away from the room trying not to show his anger at the small blue-haired fairy, he had underestimated her and avoided seeing the thread she posed to his plan. Of course, he had no problem with the council, they would eat up whatever he conjured, but it was not on his best interest to get guild masters and wizard saints riled up. He hated her deeply and decided at some point she would be gone from the picture, no matter what.

Lucy held Levy's hand, she opened her mouth to speak; Levy squished her hand and shook her head letting her know this was not the right time. It was amazing how they could read each other so easily, their relationship was so based on trust and understanding that the small gesture was enough for now.

"Lucy! You need to tell me everything about the wedding. Did you select a dress already?"

"I have not"

"Well then it's settled! Why don't we hit the stores today and pick our favorites? I'm sure a little shopping will brighten out mood" She winked at her with a smile and Lucy nodded, something was cooking in her best friends head and she was determined to figure it out.

They left soon after that with Vincent; he had eyes and ears everywhere, which made "real" communication so much harder. He took them to the fanciest bridal shops they'd ever seen, if they weren't so preoccupied with the actual issue that would have been a memorable moment. It took a couple of hours for them to get through the best shops, where of course Lucy tried out more than a couple dresses until they had narrowed down their list enough to decide.

"Ugh I'm spent. My feet hurt so bad" Levy fanned herself with her hand and rolled her eyes.

"I know! Hey Vince! Is there a coffee shop around this place you can take us to?"

"Of course, it's not far from here"

The coffee shop was in a street corner, the windows went almost from ceiling to floor and were covered with glass despite the squared framing that made a big crystal door in the middle; there were many available sits on the outside with tall stools and tables all in dark wood, but they decided to shelter themselves from the sun. The inside was much cooler, it had comfortable rouge pink couches surrounding shorter dark wood tables and small light beads hanged from the ceiling simulating fireflies.

They sat down together on one couch and Vincent sat across them, he made a point of not leaving them alone since of course his job was to keep an eye on Lucy like a hawk. Levy knew she had to figure out a way to get rid of him without it being suspicious, so she used the only tool she thought would make him uncomfortable… girl talk, if there was something that would for sure make ANY man she knew uncomfortable, it was definitely girl talk.

"Lucy, Oh I have so much to tell you about, I can't believe you've been gone for so long!"

"I know, I haven't heard from anyone yet, what are they up to now?"

"Forget about the rest! They can come and talk to you themselves about their stuff; I had a huge fight with Gajeel, he was being a total jerk!"

"Oh, please Levy, there's nothing new about that…" Lucy was so used to being around Vincent she didn't even noticed him anymore.

Levy blushed and thought about what she was going to say, she knew there was not much to lose but her sense of privacy and it was a given she would have to make it annoyingly awkward.

"Yeah but this time we made up" she winked at Lucy with a sassy smile.

Lucy almost spat her tea all over Levy's face. "Wait, what do you mean with… you made up… choose your words wisely do not get me all excited over nothing Levy McGarden!"

"Well, if you  _really_  want to know…I went to his house, and once he was asleep on the couch I kind of jumped him"

Lucy's eyes widen in surprise, her jaw was about to hit the table "J-jumped him? As in… jumped him?" Levy nodded and stuck her tongue out and Lucy turned her face to stare at guardian "Vincent walk away! We need to have a girl talk!"

"Ma'am I can't leave, Tatsuma-sama's orders were…"

"Oh, it's fine Luce, he can stay. So, we started making out softly but then it got really serious, he started doing this thing with his hands, it seriously drove me crazy…" after a few minutes of conversation, Vincent was redder than Erza's hair.

"Mhm, I guess it wouldn't hurt anyone if I give you some privacy, I can't leave but I'll get a table in the back. Miss… Please don't mention it to Tatsuma-sama"

"We won't say a thing" they both smiled at him and gave him a wink.

"Geez! Ok he is finally gone… Lucy we need to talk"

"Damn it Levy! I actually thought this had happened, you've been reading too many romance novels"

"Mhm" Levy blushed again and her lip shook a little.

"No way! Did that actually happen? Levy McGarden you are telling me this right now!"

"Don't you think we have more important items to discuss than my intimacy? Seriously Lucy!"

Sigh, "Yeah you are right, I've just been longing a real talk with someone you know?"

"I know Lucy… We know about him, about what he can do"

Lucy felt relieved, but it didn't last long… "And Natsu?"

"He's been back for over a month now, he doesn't know"

"I thought so… this whole place would be nothing but ashes if he did" she smiled with a nostalgic look on her face.

"It's not only that Lucy, I think he has also been marked…" Lucy's heart stopped for a second, Natsu had always been the thing that tipped the scales for her, he gave her a new life, safe that life many times and had held her hand throughout pain and fear "How do you know?" her voice was shaky and she was trying hard not to cry with Vincent so close to them.

"We have figured out who had been exposed to missions where he seemed to be involved… Natsu was in one of those and it was before his nightmares started" Levy could tell by Lucy's face she didn't know about it, so she took a deep breath proceeded to tell her all about Natsu's lack of control, what happened with him and Merryl, his nightmare, and the ongoing training the guild helped him with; it was too much information to handle in such little time.

"Do you understand? We cannot tell him Lucy… If he loses it, he will stop at nothing until Fukuro is dead, and maybe not even then, if he is not in total control by the time he finds out we could lose him… forever" The words resonated in her head; through every problem they had come by, one thing they could always count on was Natsu fighting back with every once of his being, and coming out victorious, but could he really win against himself?

"Levy you don't need to explain, you made the right choice. I can't judge you know… I'm here, aren't I?"

The script mage nodded, she knew hearing this wasn't easy for her friend and could barely imagine what her reaction would have been if she was in her shoes "What's your biggest fear Lu? What is he using against you?"

Lucy took a deep breath, she always called Levy her best friend but didn't really know what it meant until she saw her risking everything for her. "For him to die, to watch him die, to lose him… I can't imagine a guild without him, a life… I don't want to even think of what that would look like"

"We'll figure it our Lu; but we need to play along. In order for this to work, you need to break Natsu's heart in the worst way possible. He'll forgive you once this is over, but he absolutely has to believe this is what will make you happy"

They played pretend while Vincent took them home; they had at least twenty-five bags of shoes, and clothes and entered the house laughing and holding hands as if they hadn't had the creepiest talk of the century.

"Well it seems someone had a nice time" he smiled at both mages and signaled the many bags poor Vincent was hardly able to hold.

"The best time" Lucy dropped the small bags she was carrying on the floor and walked to Fukuro in an excited childish way, she put her arms around him and whispered to his ear "Thank you Fuku-kun"; she then kissed his lips and tangled her fingers on his hair.

Fukuro was shocked at this response. His eyes shimmered as his brain went on and on; she was happy and that's all he cared. Lucy on the other hand was indeed happy for a completely different reason, the certainty of knowing exactly how to manipulate a man like him into believing what she wanted him to believe.

"Mhm, well why don't you ladies change clothes and prepare for dinner, I'm sure you've both had a long exciting day"

In a matter of seconds, he was left with his thoughts after both of them ran up the stairs almost in glee.

"She seems happier today. That visit made her happy, that kiss wasn't forced… I know it wasn't" whether he truly believed that, or he was completely blind and delusional was something no one would be able to tell. They all sat down for dinner while Levy and Lucy went on about all the dresses they saw, their favorite ones and the ones they hated.

"Fukuro, Lucy wanted to take some pictures but it's bad luck to see the bride wearing the dress before the wedding"

"Oh Levy, I'm sure we'll have infinite luck, but I'm a traditional man so I appreciate it" They enjoyed the rest of dinner with small talk, then dessert and a cup of tea to close the day.

"Lucy, I think you should go home and visit your friends before the wedding. It may be exactly what you need" he had changed his mind after he saw how agreeable she had become just by Levy's visit, it occurred to him that in order to tame someone as spirited as Lucy, he may have to meet her half way.

"Oh Fuku-kun… but I don't want to leave you alone here with all the planning!"

"My dear, I'm sure with all your lady friends over there, you'll have plenty of hands ready to help. I'm assuming you'll see your… other friends too?"

"Well I'm guessing they'll be there, but they won't really want to help with the wedding details"

Levy saw where this was going "Oh they won't be around to break anything we buy, they went on S-Class training, I'm not sure when they are coming back, but they'll be on time for the wedding or Erza will have their heads"

"It's settled then, I'll make arrangements for you to leave early in the morning, with Vincent of course. I still have a few matters to take care of for the next few days, but I'll call the hotel and make a reservation for you"

"Oh, I still have my place there, I don't think it's necessary"

"It is, I'll call at lunch and dinner to make sure you are ok"

Lucy knew what that meant, it was a place where he would have eyes everywhere, and he would make sure she was there; he had removed the metaphorical chains to allow her to move only to replace them for larger ones, with a guard and checkups.

Levy took a lacrima out of her pocket and called Erza in her fake excitement tone "Erza you won't believe this! We are coming home so you better get the plans started on the bachelorette party"

As if this had been well practice Erza performed at her best "This is amazing! I'll ask Mira to take care of the food and snacks, Cana will get the drinks, I'll buy a cake!"

"Sounds amazing! See you home soon, we leave early in the morning"

The two fairies tried to sleep but anticipation was getting the best of them. Lucy rolled on her bed the whole night just thinking on how to handle the task in front of her; she always though one day she would break someone's heart and will have hers broken in return, but she never in a lifetime would think she would have to do that on purpose to keep her best friend alive. She knew this was far beyond only breaking his heart, she would have to betray his trust.

Levy on the other hand was now anxious, returning home to deal with Gajeel after she left wasn't something she was eager to do, but just being able to go back home to see him was more than she had expected at the beginning.

Morning came soon, and Vincent had everything ready for their departure, the ride there was completely silent, and in no time, they had all sitting inside the train on their way back to Magnolia.

* * *

As soon as Erza finished her grand performance in the lacrima just in case they were being heard she disconnected and turned to the rest of her friends.

"It worked; they'll be here tomorrow afternoon"

Gajeel was in pretty bad shape, apparently worrying about someone that deeply didn't suit him well, he had bags under his eyes and was moodier than normal, fortunately he had Natsu's training to take his frustration out which had worked for both of their benefits. "Is she ok?"

"She sounds ok Gajeel, but we won't know for sure until she is here, but she is coming back… that's the important thing here, don't you agree?" He nodded and clenched his fists without saying anything else.

Gray sat tapping his fingers on the table "What now? Which one of us will backstab our friend?"

This was not a job they wanted to take. Avoiding the information was one thing but actually lying to his face was something different. This was the man who had stuck his neck out for every single one of them, risked his life countless times, opened their eyes to simple facts that they were unable to see because they always complicated things… this was the man that carried the guild's unbreakable will on his fist.

"I'll do it" Merryl was sitting on the floor just looking at her fingernails.

"Oh please, you are the reason why we are in this position, why would we trust you?" Gray still thought keeping her locked and restrained was best for them.

"You should trust me because any of you could kill me with one punch, and I'm painfully aware" she rubbed the small cut on her neck while staring at Erza.

She noticed that wasn't good enough for them, and took a deep breath "Look I know right now I'm worse than trash ok? I can't make up for it and even if I could I wouldn't do it, I have my own reasons to be in the position I'm at. What I can tell you is that I know how to hurt him, and I'm expendable, right?"

"One wrong step trash…"

"I know, you'll stop my heart with one single move"

* * *

The next morning, she was finally allowed out; she took a shower and a change of clothes and went on her way. She grabbed some food from the guild and went straight to the training place; the guys were seriously devastating it.

"Wow, by the time you finish there won't be a forest left Lizard" she smirked at him and blew a kiss his way.

Natsu was standing in the middle of the designated training place with Laxus and Bickslow while Evergreen and Freed stood outside of the runes; he rolled his eyes and turned around to continue with his activities "Mhm I thought you were gone, how disappointing"

"Well it seems I have a soft spot for mystical reptiles after all. Master Makarov needs the Raijinshuu back. And you dragon-boy, you need to eat something if you are planning to keep training like a maniac"

Natsu grudgingly agree; he was starving after such a long training. He stared at Laxus and nodded at him silently letting him know it'll be ok.

"We'll go see the old man and come back to keep training, wouldn't want you to relax too much"

"I'll be waiting right here, don't even think about running away Sparky!"

The Raijinshuu walked away talking in confidence as they usually did, leaving the Dragon Slayer and the redheaded mess of a woman behind. Natsu almost absorbed the food she brought for him and immediately laid on the floor to rest with his hands behind his head; Merryl stretched her arms and back and laid her head on top of his chest as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Oi… you are doing it again, get away from me before you regret it"

Merryl put her hand on his neck and pulled herself closer to his face "Why can't you ever just live in the moment? Would it be so bad?"

He looked away from her to avoid her eyes "This is not what I want", she pushed herself up and grabbed his chin to force him to meet her eyes "But you want her?"

"I… I do"

"Please, honey you are a monster, a well-oiled killing machine made in the fucking fire of hell… You are not even human anymore! She could never want you, and even if she did you would only bring her pain"

"You don't know that!" Natsu pushed her off and stood from his place

"But I do, you think I didn't see you sobbing in your sleep? Calling out her name while tears stained your pathetic face… Creepy looking scales all over your body, claws and sharp teeth. "Oh Lucy, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to, I love you" such a pathetic image"

Natsu was barely able to pull himself together, he was angrily shaking, steam coming out his body, but he pulled through.

"Well I guess we'll see what she wants once she comes back… won't we?"

"Oh, honey but we did see…she has someone now, didn't you hear? OH WAIT… I forgot none of your friends thought you were strong enough to handle it… so they have all been lying to you for days now!"

"You are full of shit Merryl"

"Well you could always ask her yourself… she'll be back any moment now… Just don't blame me if you take her out once she breaks your sad little heart"

Natsu lost his composure for a moment; he grabbed Merryl by her shirt and pulled her off the ground and got her close enough to whisper in her ear with a deep voice "I could break your neck right now and throw you away, no one will shed a tear for someone like you, do you know how easy that would be for me?"

"Just as easy as it would be for you to break hers… And this is the man who's not a monster?"

He loosened his grip and she fell to the ground, when she looked up at him, he was staring at her with eyes she had never seen before and suddenly she was scared. The darkest fire started revolting around him as a tornado, rising to the skies scorching everything in his path. With a single move of his left arm, a burst of fire took miles of trees out leaving nothing but a steaming pile of steaming charcoal.

"You better stay out of my way before you see the real monster"

He walked away slowly leaving a fire trail behind him. She couldn't move, the air around her was still so hot, her skin had blisters from the heath, it was burning up just by standing close to him, she laid there and cried like a child holding her knees to her chest.

After walking half way back, the fire trail stopped, he needed to find out if she was lying; he had a hard time clearing his thoughts but managed to stay an inch away from chaos once again, but he could tell it was getting harder every time.

* * *

Levy, Lucy, and Vincent got to the hotel to drop Lucy's things there. She got a call from Fukuro in perfect timing.

"We got here ok, we are going to meet the girls for drinks and plan things out. Is it ok if I get here a bit later than usual?"

"Fine, but you'll call the second you arrive"

"I promise"

The three of them were almost at the door of guild, when Vincent noticed two people on the side talking; he immediately recognized one of them.

"Miss Lucy, I know Tatsuma-sama would not approve but I think you may need some time alone with your friends, so why don't I get out of your way for a while?"

She was surprised by the offer but took it without a second thought "Oh Vince thank you so much! Yeah, go tour around, and we'll met back at the hotel"

Vince walked to the side of the guild calmly until Lucy and Levy were out of sight and then ran to push Gajeel out of the way and wrapped his arms around Merryl, he looked at her burning skin and brushed a few strands of hair of her face.

He saw the burning skin full of blisters, the tears on her face and noticed her body was uncontrollably shaking "What the fuck happened to you Merr? Are you ok?"


	9. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merryl remembers how her story began with Fukuro and what events led her to be facing Natsu while everything burns around her. Lucy finally comes back to the guild and sees her friends although a certain, Dragon Slayer is still nowhere to be found.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi awesome people of AO3, sorry for the delay! work was killing me this week! but anyways! hope you enjoy, please R&R with your suggestions, I'm very open to feedback. OK so before we start... this Chapter explains (POV) Merryl and Fukuro's relationship and as every single thing that's toxic... it ain't pretty.   
> I always try to base my OCs on someone I've met/befriended/dated and build from it, and we all have met someone at some point who is cruel, obsessive, or just bad, man or woman makes no difference. SO that being said... I hope you never find yourselves in a situation where you feel stuck with someone like that, but if you do remember you can always ask for help, if asking people who you know face to face is too much to handle, reach to an online friend/acquaintance, we are faceless blobs that are more than willing to help, no judging. 
> 
> -Ace- 
> 
> "I must get my sould back from you; I am killing my flesh without it"
> 
> \- Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath -

Merryl POV

I saw everything unfolding slowly before my eyes and realized I had taken it too far for him to handle; his eyes were so empty now… cold even, and he was a completely different person than the one I met. I could feel his body temperature rising until fire flickered from his skin and for a second it was beautiful, just life a phoenix burning his life away to start over…

The flickering flames became powerful waves of heat that engulfed him completely, they started circling him faster and faster and became taller every time they spun around him until they reached the sky; I couldn't move nor speak, it was the most beautiful and terrifying thing I had ever laid eyes on.

It felt like his flames were consuming the little oxygen I could gather, and my lungs constricted in pain as if being burned from the inside out… I pushed it too far… why did I?... It had always been easy for me to make people react the way I want them to, but this I didn't expect, or maybe I did… maybe I wanted him to end my pain once and for all because at least dying by his hand would warm up my heart.

I saw him raise his arm to the side in a perfect and elegant motion and just with that simple act that side of the forest was gone… he hadn't even touched a thing and he was able to do this, maybe… just maybe he would be able to finish this once and for all and break the chains that bound us to a hopeless destiny, but how could he if he didn't know about it?

In the few seconds my skin was burning, I thought that was my end; that thing people say about your life flashing before your eyes when you are about to die is very true. I thought a lot in that little time on how I got to be in this situation and there was no other answer than the obvious one, I've always tried to play people but, in the end, I got played… even if I tried to blame it all on him… I knew very well this was my own doing.

I remembered being a child, living in a great house, tall roofs, and shiny floors… how I loved every single picture on the walls, every polished surface from the floor… how I envied the stars under which the rich had been born.

The house I lived in wasn't mine, not the clothes I wore, nor the shoes I stepped on to do my daily chores, but my family had worked there since forever, I couldn't remember a time in which my family wasn't bound to fulfill every single wimp and desire from the "masters'" mouths… I hated my life there; I thought I was meant for so much more.

I observed and learned everything I could, I was sure I'd grow up to be better than my poor mother, to marry better, to get somewhere different; my fate couldn't be tied to thanking someone for their leftovers.

I would always observe the young master struggle with himself, searching for the love of his parents where there was clearly none; his eyes showed so much pain whenever they refused to give him the simplest form of attention and for the first time, I felt bad for someone other than myself.

He was like a small bird after crashing against a window, weak, injured, broken… and I wanted nothing more than to watch him take what was his from the hands of the people who denied him.

I was carrying a water bucket though the foyer when I saw him; he was sitting on the stairs holding his palms against his eyes and sobbing; every time he rubbed the tears away more would come out and he would grab his head and pull on his hair whispering to himself "Stop… just stop". We were about eight, so young and naïve… he was sweet, the sweetest boy I had ever met; I sat next to him on the stairs and tried getting as close as possible without disturbing the young master, I reached out to put my hand on his back and rubbed it like my mom used to do when I was sad.

"Master, what's wrong?"

"I hate them so much…"

"Your parents?"

He nodded and cleaned his face before turning my way "Yeah… I think they hate me too"

"Why would you say that Young Master? They are your parents, they can't hate you"

"They are always angry because they keep secrets from everyone; they say we are meant to be greater than what we are today" he looked disappointed at the words as if a huge weight was being dropped above his head.

"Well I think that too! I believe I should be greater, and you should too"

"I think you are already great…"

I made him smile; he held my hand and his grin became so big. That's the day I decided I would spend the rest of my life trying to make him smile like that. For some reason that smile gave me peace in the middle of chaos… I have only met one person with a smile like that after him… and by the situation I was facing now I could tell they both had more than a couple things in common.

We stayed friends through our childhood, always looking for company in the midst of our sadness; I would sneak into his balcony at night where we would watch the stars and talk about everything and nothing at the same time. He would get a thick blanket to extend on the floor so we could lay there, his head touching mine while he pointed at the sky and name the stars excitedly.

It didn't take long for his parents to notice our growing relationship and they warned my mother, she had to keep me away from their precious heir or we would be kicked out for good, because of course… why would someone of his status want to hang out with the poor, filthy daughter of their maid. My mother was shocked, this had been her family's home since forever and she did the only thing she could… she forbade me from spending time with him.

Of course, what good is a prohibition to a couple of preteens? Right away we got creative and figured out ways to see each other. We were growing up and as we got older, we perfected our games of hide and seek discovering those would still work to escape and make out under a tree. We had our first real kiss when we were fifteen and it kept escalating bit by bit.

By seventeen our skills were so perfected, he would sneak me in his room, so we could be alone and surrender to each other, he claimed every part of my skin and I did the same over the course of that year. I thought his parents knew but whenever I thought we were going to get caught it seemed they hadn't seen anything or heard anyone. They were different, he was different; the sweet boy I thought will take me places became an arrogant, controlling, and obsessive man and I set out to either fix him or break myself.

A year later his parents died, almost 2 weeks after his 18th birthday; the best doctors were called to inspect them and everyone agreed it had been some sort of virus. They seemed to have withered from one day to the next; their bodies looked like they were 100 years old, their skin was completely dried and wrinkled and their eyes were way inside their sockets, it was a terrifying sight. I tried comforting him, of course despite of everything that had happened they were still his parents, but to my surprise he was calmed, poised, and ready to take on the family business.

I kept thinking, "This is it! We have no obstacles, he'll marry me, and I'll have the life I deserve". Little did I know that his eyes were set on a bigger price... a much brighter star than the one I was born under.

I was ready to take my place there despite my mother's warnings; I was so cruel to her… how I regret not listening, not being a better daughter for her… "You just want me to be sad and miserable like you! What kind of mother wants her daughter to have such a miserable fate! You take pride in cleaning people's mess, how pathetic, well that ain't me! Go on! Take your dirty rags on your rough hands and keep picking after them, that's the only thing you know how to do" she cried so much, she prayed so bad…she prayed for me, for my soul, for my safety… but that soul she prayed for had been surrender to him long before, a deal with the devil sounds like an accurate description at this point.

I entered the master bedroom to get everything ready, this was it! My new life was waiting for me and I couldn't wait for it to start. I dimmed the lights and set the champagne on the side, fluffed the pillows and removed my outfit before folding it neatly and putting it inside one of the drawers; it was silly but putting my clothes away in his drawers was the most magical feeling… I belonged there.

I was wearing nothing but a pair of black laced panties and a matching bra that made my red hair and olive eyes look even brighter, and a pair of high heel shoes that wrapped around all the way under my knees. I laid on his bed and waited, I waited for so long until he finally arrived.

My body was in the middle of the bed with my hands stretched out in the sides, one of my legs completely straight on the bed while the other was slightly bend. He walked around the bed like a panther looking at its prey, he had always been addicted to the feeling of imposing power, probably because when we were young, he had so little…

While he circled the bed slowly, he removed his tie and undid his shirt, never removing his eyes from me, he stood next to the bed "Belt…" my hand moved to follow his command without a second thought. He smirked and pulled down his pants and boxers in one pull, his eyes still burning with desire and looking up and down my body.

He got on top of me in one move and grabbed my neck so hard I felt it was going to break, but I did nothing to stop him; his other hand moved to my right breast and squeeze without tact, but I couldn't scream in pain with his left hand on my throat. He was smiling, but his smile was not the one I remembered, it was a dark sardonic grin. He lowered himself and bit hard on my right breast, and I knew that was going to bruise if not bleed… I felt pain, pleasure, desire, fear… I couldn't understand how this man could made me feel so many different things at once

I remembered the first time we had sex, he was so sweet and caring, so worried about my wellbeing… we had taken our time to discover each corner of our bodies, he had kissed the tears away from my eyes and hugged me to get rid of the initial pain. Foreplay now was a long-forgotten story… he was selfish and only cared about his own needs, so, it was no surprise for me when he moved my underwear to the side and pushed himself inside me while still holding my pulsing neck on his hands.

I didn't mind, because in the end I was the one who fixed his wings and helped him recover… I was the one who stood by his side and fought for him all those years, I was the one who let him take whatever he wanted without a fight, I was the one… the only one. He would rise and take me with him and finally I would get the greatness I always knew was meant to be mine.

I did worry, he wasn't like that when we were younger, he was shy and sweet, and his kisses tasted like the sweetest honey; I'll never know what changed him into what he is today. I endured so much abuse from him that I thought my reward was a given, who else could he be himself with? Who was going to love him so much to stay by his side as I did?

With one last thrust he emptied himself inside me and rolled to his side still trying to catch his breath "Get out…"

"But babe" I got closer to him and laid on his chest running circles with my fingers on his skin "I thought now that things are better, we could sleep in tomorrow and maybe have breakfast in bed"

There were a few seconds of silence before he started laughing so hard that it hurt… he covered his face with both hands and shook his head "What are you thinking Merryl? Oh, so you are the housemistress now?" I pushed myself up and kneeled on bed, I was so confused "Get the fuck out"

"Why are you being like this? I know you care for me… don't act as if you don't"

"You are nothing but the help, you are nothing but a sad piece of shit and your purpose is to serve me, which you have…"

I was broken… I stood up trying to keep what little pride and dignity I had left "If I leave now, you'll never see me again Fukuro! Do you understand that? I'm done!" I tried to give him that look, the one you always read about in books where the female lead shows strength and determination and the tables switch on their favor because the world is just THAT FAIR; silly… thinking I could manipulate him of all people.

He was so fast… I could barely see him coming but by the time I reacted his hand was on me and he crashed my head against the wall before catching my bruised neck. "Oh, so you think you are done? You are not done until I say you are bitch… don't ever forget that" He squeezed by breast with so much strength that I thought it would burst… then he brushed his hand past it and pushed below it a bit before releasing his grip. "You are not totally useless… yet…"

When I looked down, I understood what he meant… there was a mark in my body, a black owl, and I knew well what it meant. The years spent in that house had taught me that nothing good would come for someone marked by the dark fate of the owl.

"I'm not afraid of you Fukuro, what else can you do to me?"

"Oh, sweet selfish Merryl… you think you are so smart! I see behind those perfect green eyes; you regret… you fear. If you ever go against me, I'll make you less than nothing, so irrelevant to the world that you'll be invisible. And your mother and brother will have the fate you fear the most, they'll suffer so much that you will prefer to kill them with your bare hands to release them from their pain…"

"You wouldn't do that… the boy I met ten years ago wouldn't do that, where is that boy?"

"He is d-e-a-d Merryl… I killed him a long time ago, you just didn't want to see it"

And so, my sentenced was signed, I would be his puppet, his accomplice, his servant, his executioner, his lover, but nothing more. My life faded away, my dreams now seemed the delusions of a spoiled child although considering everything…they may have been just that; it is sad that it takes so much bad doing to understand how wrong one is, my mother was wrong, no amount of praying would help us out now.

* * *

Vincent tried to shake his sister but didn't want to hurt her more than what she already was "Answer me Merryl! Who did this to you?"

"You know this traitor?" Gajeel pointed at the redhaired woman and frowned.

"Get your fucking hands away from my sister before you regret it!"

The Dragon Slayer was about to snap, but just when he fisted his hand, the gears on his head clicked "Sister?"

Merryl wouldn't say a thing, she didn't move, she was conscious but was so shocked and harmed, that things seemed to be moving slowly, noises sounded like listening underwater, muffled and far.

"We need to get her inside. Merr come on! Answer me!" Vincent brushed his hand against her cheek, but she didn't even look at him.

"We can't take her inside without making things worse. We'll take her somewhere safe but for now no one can't know about this, ya hear?"

Vincent thought for a second, Lucy was inside, the guild would make questions. He didn't trust the shady evil looking guy standing next to him, but he didn't have much of a choice.

"Fine… lead the way"

Vincent carried Merryl on his arms and followed Gajeel to the outskirts of Magnolia until they arrived to Porlyusica's place. They were greeted by an old woman with pink hair, an explosive temper, who was charging towards them with a broom.

"GET OUT OF MY PROPERTY YOUR BRATS"

"Stop this! We need your help"

"Well you are always in need of help; you smelly humans can't seem to stop fighting each other"

Gajeel swallowed hard and bit his tongue "Please… this is a special case, discretion will be needed"

"Tsk… you always have special cases…" Porlyusica led them inside with a frown on her face, if the Iron Dragon Slayer had gone as far as to say please, that was a story worth listening to.

"I'll help, but the moment you lie or keep a secret from me…"

"I know…"

Vincent laid Merryl on the bed and uncovered the burns on her body, he stared at her small frame and felt anger building up inside his chest. Porlyusica observed the poor girl but was shocked once she recognized the very familiar smell on her skin; she turned her face to Gajeel and gave him a concerned look "This was…Natsu?...What happened?"

Gajeel was standing there, arms crossed over his chest, still trying to figure out what he could say; after all, he knew nothing about Vincent. He finally concluded that he had to tell the truth to the old healer about everything and if the visitor tried to escape, he could simply take him out with a single punch.

"Yeah…he lost control" he felt the mood of the room changed and saw no other choice than to disclose more information "but we planned for it… she knew, is not like we threw here against her will ok? we just never thought it would be this bad"

Vincent's face went dark; he was angrily shaking and considering going after him for what he did to his sister until he heard the rest of Gajeel's explanation.

"Natsu's been corrupted with some sort of evil mark, which collided with him reaching his maturity stage. The guy who did this is trying to take him out to get Lucy to marry him and carry his child, but for some reason instead of taking him out this is only causing him to lose himself over and over…"

Vincent just stood there, he felt hate for Natsu but pitied him, he was no more than a puppet with a few missing strings who kept trying to stand up or lay down and was incapable to. He wanted to believe his sister offered to help because she had finally come to her senses, he loved her so much… but he knew that since they were kids, her mind had always been less than fine.

Porlyusica agreed it was best for the girl to stay with her for now until it was all figured out. Gajeel and Vincent walked back to the guild without exchanging any other words, there was a sense of awkwardness around them.

* * *

Levy and Lucy entered the guild; everyone except for the pink-haired dragon slayer was excitedly waiting for their arrival, so as soon as the doors opened up everyone erupted in cheers; Lucy took a deep breath, the loud noises, the smells, the sight… this was the place where she belonged.

Erza, Mira, Cana and Lisanna ran towards Lucy and hugged her until she was turning blue, of course Erza had to immediately pull her into her armor crushing her face in the process "I have missed you Lucy!"

"Oh Erza, I'm sure Lucy has missed you too, if you would allow her to breath she would most likely tell you" Mira giggled when Erza blushed and released her grip on her blond friend.

Lucy coughed a couple of times, but immediately smiled at her friend "I have missed you… so much" there were little tears forming on the corners of her eyes and immediately Lucy was pulled by her neck and felt a hand inappropriately brushing her breast "And I've missed those!"

"GEEZ CANA! Let go!"

They wasted no time and started planning the bachelorette party for the next day, talking about the decoration, drinks and ceremony, the whole deal, the girls had insisted in keeping a lot of the details in secret claiming to have a few surprises for Lucy.

Mira kept the drinks coming and a little blush could be seen on their cheeks, they'd been catching up for a couple of hours; it was as if Lucy had never left. They were laughing and chatting until a deep voice cut through their cheerful reunion.

"Shorty!..." Levy froze and turned slowly to find a very angry Gajeel staring at her. He pointed his finger at the back office "Office...Now…" his voice sounded like a low growl and the color left every single face on that table.

She looked at the girls who had the same fear expression on their faces. They observed as she slowly walked behind him, once the door was closed, she immediately started to talk.

"Look I know you are angry, but please listen, I had to, ok? She is my best friend" there was no response and her anxiety was rising by the second "I won't apologize for doing what I did! I am a capable mage Gajeel!" she was met with more silence "Can you just say something! Anything! Scream at me if you want just… say something!"

She heard his foodsteeps stop behind her and he could hear her heartbeat pulsing in her ears; he stood there for a few seconds, and then covered her with his arms and rested his face on the crook of her neck.

"Don't you ever disappear like that, shrimp...you can't scare me that way, ok?"

Levy's eyes watered as she grabbed his arms with her hands, she nodded and whispered, "I promise". He squeezed her torso and breathed in her scent "I'm not joking… you can't do that to me ever again…" she simply nodded and bit her lip to avoid whimpering but he knew, he could smell he salty tears on her eyes.

Gajeel turned her around and kissed her with thirst, he kissed away every tear and kissed the spot where he bit her lip. He carried her to the Master's desk and laid her down as he continued kissing her; she wrapped her hands on his black soft hair while he held his weight to avoid crushing her. "Ahem…" The sudden noise disrupted them.

"One would advise to lock the door… and to not use your Master's work place for such… activities" they both turned to find Makarov staring at them with a quizzical look "Now… GET OUT OF MY OFFICE BRATS!". They stood up and fixed themselves only to find more than a few heads peeping through the open door. Their faces were beyond red at this point.

Gajeel cleared his throat and left the room, head high, walking in between a shocked pair of Shadow Gear mages who were now starting to cry mumbling something about their lived never being the same again, and them loosing Levy for good this time. The rest of the equally shocked observing faces followed his moved until he left, he was thankful that he had to try to find Natsu before it was too late so it was about time to leave the guild anyways, he took a few of the guys and left.

Levy went back to the girls that were now observing with a sassy look.

"Well… Go Levy! didn't know you had it in you kid...wait… did you?"

The group burst into laughter "Cana shut up! How can you say such a thing!" Levy said while covering her very obvious, very blushed face.

The girls continued with her day, not letting Levy forget about it. It was dark out and Lucy decided to walk back to the hotel, she took her time, inspected the river, looked at the stars, she walked by her old apartment with sorrow and decided to keep going.

Once at the hotel, she called Fukuro to let him know she was well, he chatted about his day and how much he missed her, and then she went to bed. Lucy felt pain in her chest, the moment she feared was getting closer and she missed Natsu so much; she cried herself to sleep as she had done many nights before during the past couple of months.

The next day, Vincent asked Lucy if it was ok for them to each go their way again, his question had surprised her, but she was happy to take up on his offer; she noticed he was being weird but had too much on her plate to focus on that.

The girls met and blindfolded Lucy, it was all supposed to be a surprise after all. They arrived to a clearing well hidden in the forest, a place where Lucy had never been; due to the large amount of trees around it, all the usual visual references were not visible.

"Wow girls what is this place?"

Erza decided to give a short and concise answer "Sorry Lucy, we don't know how far his power goes so that's something we can't say"

"So… you all know?"

"Most of us do, there are a few people that we've kept outside not only for your protection but for theirs. Natsu can't be controlled by us anymore, and we're afraid he may not be able to pull himself out of this one either"

"Wait, where has Natsu been? I haven't seen him around"

They looked at each other trying to find the right way to respond, but there wasn't any. Erza took a deep breath "We… we are not sure where he is Lucy. You see, we decided it was time for him to know you had someone, we sent a person to talk to him, to tease him and things went bad, he walked away"

"Come on Erza! No one followed him? He is a danger to himself and any other person now!?"

"She couldn't follow him...she has hurt badly" It was bizarre to even speak those words… the thought of Natsu hurting someone like that without a real reason was something they couldn't accept, but facts were facts.

Lucy felt the same… she was aware, Natsu would often get into fights but she had never thought he would be capable of hurting someone to that extend. "She?" Lucy asked while counting every single person there with them thinking which of her friends he could have hurt.

Levy took a step forward "The girl I told you about… Merryl, she was supposed to get under his skin. Lucy, you and I had talked about this, the plan was for you to break his heart, but this can't happen if we don't find him. We've looked everywhere we can think of"

"I know but I need to leave tomorrow Lev… If I don't… he'll come here and I won't allow that to happen, I won't let Fukuro hurt any of my friends"

They stayed for hours trying to think of ways to solve, they had a bunch of plans and theories but nothing specific. Her friends promised they would figure something out and to never abandon her. Lucy was afraid but also grateful to have such friends.

Night came soon, and he was still nowhere to be found, Lucy walked back to the hotel and had some dinner, she called Fukuro and told him about the great day she had with her friends, and how excited they were to be bridesmaids, she told him she would go to sleep to leave early in the morning all with her happy bride-to-be fake tone to keep him at bay.

Lucy left the hotel and decided to go back to her old place, she didn't know if she would ever be back, she trusted her friends but wanted to take some of her stuff just in case. Her apartment held so many wonderful memories of her life in the guild, of her, Natsu, Happy… she couldn't leave that all behind.

She pulled her key and unlocked the door quickly, although Vincent had agreed to go their separate ways, she didn't trust him enough yet to be sure he wouldn't run back to Fukuro to give him information; she got inside and rested her forehead on the door. The room was dark and only slightly visible due to the moonlight entering through her window.

"Hey Luce…" she immediately gasped at the hoarse sound coming from behind her, she felt het hear sink all the way to her stomach, of course! They had searched for him in every single place they could thing of except this one… How could she not recognize the voice behind her?

Lucy turned around and found him sitting on the couch, the moonlight bouncing on his messy pink hair and creating a shadow on his face that hid his eyes from her. Natsu had his elbows on his knees and was resting his chin on his hands; she noticed the almost empty bottle on her coffee table and the short glass.

She could tell right away that he looked off, there was no signature grin on his face, and the fire in his eyes seemed long gone… he was just there as a shell of something that used to be but wasn't anymore.


	10. Heartbreak and Treason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu learns about Lucy's future plans and is unwilling to accept the information leading to an undesirable result. There's no time to provide him with the support he needs, Fairy Tail needs to face their new enemy soon. The guild moves to the manor to assist the unhappy event and prepare their plan of action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! Ok I suck… I am completely willing to grovel and bow… I was taking some very much needed Holiday break which was a Mexican “Semana Santa” involving a swimming pool, lots of sun, and a ton of tequila, and everything else got delayed, so I am truly sorry I haven’t updated in what was it like 2 weeks? 
> 
> Also, one quick note, there are A LOT of lines to split scenes, there are of bunch of things happening at the same time in different places that play an important role as we move forward so each line splits the scene. Most likely this still needs more editing, I am extremely tired, but I promise to re read tomorrow and make the necessary changes.
> 
> -Ace- 
> 
> “Every betrayal contains a perfect moment, a coin stamped heads or tails with salvation on the other side”
> 
> Barbara Kingsolver

*Previously*

She pulled her key and unlocked the door quickly, although Vincent had agreed to go their separate ways, she didn't trust him enough yet to be sure he wouldn't run back to Fukuro to give him information; she got inside and rested her forehead on the door. The room was dark and only slightly visible due to the moonlight entering through her window.

"Hey Luce…" she immediately gasped at the hoarse sound coming from behind her, she felt her heart sink all the way to her stomach, of course! They had searched for him in every single place they could thing of except this one… How could she not recognize the voice behind her?

Lucy turned around and found him sitting on the couch, the moonlight bouncing on his messy pink hair and creating a shadow on his face that hid his eyes from her. Natsu had his elbows on his knees and was resting his chin on his hands; she noticed the almost empty bottle on her coffee table and the short glass.

She could tell right away that he looked off, there was no signature grin on his face, and the fire in his eyes seemed long gone… he was just there as a shell of something that used to be but wasn't anymore.

 

* * *

 

 

Lucy didn't know how to react, her heart felt like it was about to leave her body; she had waited so long to see him, she missed him so much and he looked so bad; she was fighting every bone in her body to not run and comfort her best friend in this horrible time, to let him rest on her lap and brush her fingers through his hair, to tell him everything was fine now…

"Natsu… Where have you been? Everyone has been looking for you since yesterday…"

"Well Luce, they didn't look very well, did they? I've been here…"

"Since yesterday?..."

"Yeah, I figured out you would eventually come here, honestly I didn’t think it would take you this long… how could I know you weren’t staying in your own house?”

“I’m… staying in a hotel, it’s just that….” She was interrupted abruptly, he didn’t even look at her when he asked, “I need to know...is it true?"

"Y-you haven't asked me anything yet…"

Natsu laughed, it was more as if he was mocking the situation, and even in the darkness in the room she could tell his eyes were glossy. The sound was so unlike Natsu, it was a painful, almost to the point of being scary and Lucy didn’t know what to make of it, she leaned on the door and stared at him, waiting for him to continue.

"You have a guy now, and that's where you've been… shacking up with him somewhere" his words sounded bitter, he wasn't even looking at her but just staring at the floor.

"Yeah Natsu, I have a boyfriend now, h-he's… great actually"

"Ok great… so go on then, go get it out of your system” He looked at her, and this time his eyes were softer, almost pleading and filled with hope “and then come back and we'll pick up where we left of, ok?" he meant it, he didn't mind if he was second, or if he had to wait, he just wanted her back somehow.

The thought of her being with someone else was killing him inside, but he knew it was his own fault, after all he had never told her what he really felt, nor why he was so upset with her before; so, waiting patiently for her was not something that would come easy, but if it meant having her back he would do so, just for her, because she was worth the wait.

"It's not like that Natsu”

“Of course, it is… I was an idiot and you left and met someone, that’s fine Luce, we can talk all about it when you come home ok?”

“I didn’t meet someone… I’ve known him my whole life, and he is the one I want to be with do you understand that?”

He didn’t respond, he seemed to be just sitting there staring at noting in particular, one hand holding the other and squeezing making his fingers whiter than usual because of the pressure; “Natsu… I’m not coming back”

Natsu held his breath but otherwise had no reaction, no response, she was expecting a big childish scene, yelling and pouting, she hoped to see her best friend did what he usually did; the man in front of her looked more like a shadow of what she remembered.

“Listen…I've talked to the Master, and I'm leaving for good… I'm getting married in a couple of days and..."

His brow twitched, he turned to look at her and opening and closing his mouth a couple of times before finding his words, but he didn’t find any; he stood up and strode towards her, he was so close she could feel heat coming out of his skin; Lucy remembered all those nights she had kicked him out of her bed and cursed herself for not taking advantage of those moments to be honest with him.

"No, you are not, you'll realize he is not for you and you'll come back here Luce. There's no one else for you" there was something in his eyes, he seemed almost feral. Her heart was pounding, her knees were shaking, and a breath got hitched on her throat causing her words to sound less confident than what she wanted "I a-am not. He is the o-one I want to be with, I'm m-marrying him"

He was so frustrated now, he felt that small thread that was holding him together slowly tearing apart; it felt like fire in his veins, a black hole in his stomach and electricity in his heart, his heart started pounding and he had to stop himself from growling "THE HELL YOU ARE!" He pushed Lucy against the door pinning her with his body; he slid his hands down and grabbed her legs to put them around his waist, and she didn’t try to stop him.

He kissed her passionately, painfully, deeply; every kiss made her feel the devastation from his soul, the desperate cry from within telling her to stay with him, to try to figure things out together; his tongue was playing circles with hers, engaged in a fierce battle that he won every time, he kept pushing his body towards her and it was almost too much for her to resist, her legs were now willingly wrapped around him and se instinctively pushed her hips towards him; he slid his hand to touch her neck, then down to her shoulder brushing her soft porcelain skin.

Lucy felt a sharp pain on her right arm and pushed him away, falling to the ground with a painful scream; she had never felt something so hot in her life and it took all her strength not to faint. He turned away and laid both of his hands on the sides of his head, he was panting; a deep growl came out of his throat as the flames ignited his body causing some of the windows to break and the carpet underneath him to darken; he looked back to find Lucy shaking on the floor, her blouse covered with blood; she was holding her injured arm with one hand but he could tell the wound was deep.

His heart stopped for a second, he looked at his crimson arm, shinning red scales covering every inch of skin on it, his claws were wet with ruby red liquid… Lucy's blood, that’s when it hit him, he had lost it and grabbed Lucy by the arm while they were kissing causing her skin to rip; he had caused pain to the person he cared for the most, just by touching her, she was in pain because he cared for her.

"No, No, I… I didn't mean to… Luce…" his pleading desperate eyes tried to find her one second and avoid her the next, she could see the pain this was causing him “Please, Luce… I’m so sorry…please…”

Lucy would have run to him, she wouldn't have minded, her best friend was in suffering and she would go to hell and back to save him; but she knew today she couldn't. She knew exactly what she had to say. Natsu knelt and extended his shaky hand to touch her.

She cringed against the door and started crying and shaking harder "Please don't hurt me Natsu…" those simple words destroyed something within; his eyes widen, and she could see the tears starting to form in his eyes.

"I didn't… I wouldn't..."

"Why would you do this to me? Why do you want to hurt me?”

“I didn’t mean to… Luce I didn’t notice…I’m…” he was interrupted by the words that would put the final nail on the coffin that held his sanity “When did you become this monster! Tell me!"

He felt a sharp pain on his chest, as if someone had put a knife through it and pulled down splitting all the blood vessels in half; he stood up and left the apartment without looking back, he couldn’t face her, not anymore, the cost of being uncapable of taming the monster inside of him had been too high, he had lost the right to walk next to her, forever.

After a few minutes, Lucy laid on the ground and cried desperately, letting out a soul shattering scream "What have I done?" it kept going for a couple of minutes, but she knew she needed to move, the bleeding on her arm wasn’t stopping and even if this wasn’t a devastating injury, she still had to take care for it.

As soon as she was able to stop crying, she rushed to the guild hoping someone was still there, her arrival alerted her guild mates.

"We need to call Wendy"

"Levy we can't get her involved! She is just a child"

"Lucy, you are leaving tomorrow, if you go back to him with that on your arm, all of our plans will be useless"

There was no other choice, it didn’t take long for the youngest of the Dragon Slayers to arrive; Wendy walked towards Lucy silently and held her hands towards her, as soon as the bright light started emanating from her hands, Lucy felt the pain leaving her body. Everyone was staring at Wendy, half expecting for her to immediately ask what had happen, but to everyone's surprise she didn't ask any questions; she just looked very sad.

"Wendy don't feel bad, I'm ok, this was just an accident"

"No, it wasn't. Natsu did this to you"

"Why… why do you think that?"

"The wound is a deep cut, but its borders are sealed, even without the smell this wound reeks of fire dragon…"

“Wendy… it’s not his fault, look…”

“It’s ok Lucy, there’s no need to discuss this for now”

No one noticed when she grew up, everyone still thought of her as the child, but there she was accepting this was something they couldn't explain, and surprising them with her skills. She didn't say much after that and went back to sleep.

Lucy head back to the hotel to get everything ready, the next couple of days would be long and tortuous. She would leave in the morning and her friends would follow the day after for the big event, she couldn't believe this was happening so quickly.

 

* * *

 

 

Vincent left the hotel, he knew Lucy would have the bachelorette party and wouldn't notice his absence. He walked towards Porlyusica's place to check on his sister, she looked better.

"Hi Merr…"

"Vinnie?... What are you doing here; you are not supposed to be here"

Vincent held her hand and kissed her forehead.

"That's not important; the important thing is you're safe now"

"I'm so sorry Vinnie…" Merryl started sobbing "This is all my fault, I'm so sorry… I had to do this, you need to understand, I fucked up so much, but in the end, I just wanted to keep you and mom safe, safe from him"

Vincent's face darkened again, "Merry...Mom…" he squeezed his sister’s hand and bit his lip trying to hold back his tears, and she immediately pulled her hand away and shook her head "No...No… he said you would both be ok, he said if I was useful you would both be ok"

"Merr… she's gone, her mind is gone…"

"How...?"

"He wanted to prove himself… he used her to show what he could do"

Merryl's scream was filled with pain and sorrow, her salty tears burned her face. Vincent tried to console her but there was nothing he could do. Porlyusica ran towards them and threw something in Merryl's mouth before covering it with her hand; after a few seconds, she was calm and sleepy.

"Ma'am I want to thank you for what you've done for my sister, but I need to leave soon, and I fear she'll be in far more danger if I take her with me…"

"Go now, I won't be in charge of her, but she can stay here while she gets better"

 

* * *

 

 

Lucy left early in the morning with Vincent, they boarded the train with sad looks on their face, her eyes were still red from crying most of the night.

"You can't let him see you like that Miss"

She was startled by his voice, "It's just the dust… It's very windy today"

"Right; well how about we get you some drops to get that dust out of you eye, does that sound ok?"

Lucy nodded; something had happened to Vincent during the last few days, he seemed nicer, empathetic, even worried about her.

The rest of the ride was quiet, they got to the manor and Lucy kept playing her doting fiancée's role to perfection, while Vince watched from the distance, he had a feeling what had happened to his sister wouldn't be the last he heard from Fairy Tail.

 

* * *

 

 

After Lucy left, the guild had less than a day to get everyone ready for the trip, not everyone was going, some people were not convinced about Lucy's wedding and didn't want to watch her go through with it.

"Have you found him yet?" Makarov was worried about Natsu, leaving him behind to try and take Fukuro out wasn't going to be an easy task.

"We haven't, we have groups searching everywhere"

"Well Freed, you have Laxus, Gajeel, and Wendy! You have three Dragon Slayers, and three flying cats! Are you telling me their noses can't pick up his scent?"

The slayers looked a bit ashamed, Laxus stepped up to try to explain "We did pick up his scent gramps, but he seems to be everywhere, each time we're close we seem to have missed him by minutes, it's almost as if he…"

"As if he was avoiding us…" Gray slammed his drink on the table, "Well thunderbolt, the reason why it seems that way, is because he IS avoiding us. We shunned him! We lied to him! And then we managed to make him feel like a monster"

"Watch yourself Gray… we didn't make him feel like a monster… blondie did"

Erza had heard enough, she slammed her hands on the table "Are you both blind? Do you think she wanted this? Are you so dumb to think we even had a choice?" there were tears on her eyes, but she managed to keep them inside.

Silence took over, Laxus and Gray knew this was not the moment to fight, "We are sorry …"

"Everyone needs to go home and rest, if he doesn't want to be found then we won't find him. We need everyone in the best possible condition tomorrow morning"

The group nodded, and each went their own way. Levy started walking to go to her apartment when Gajeel caught up to her.

"Hey short-stuff…"

"Hey…."

"Can we… go somewhere?"

They walked to Gajeel's house in silence; he got two beers from the kitchen and sat down across from Levy.

"Is this about what happened?"

Gajeel took the letter she left out of his pocket and laid it in front of her. "Did you mean it?"

"I did…"

"I'm not easy to deal with shrimp, you can walk away and pretend this never happened, I wouldn't blame you"

"I know…"

"I'm jealous and possessive… and I'll make wrong choices, I can't promise to be better, I'll try but there's no guarantee"

"I know…"

"Ok then it's settled" Gajeel moved closer to Levy and put his arm around her, "From this day on, I'm never leaving your side…"

She blushed and laid her head on his shoulder; he grabbed her chin and pulled her into a kiss.

"I don't know what's going to happen after tomorrow; but let's make the best of whatever time we have"

 

* * *

 

 

They day passed, and it was time to board the train, they were still worried about Natsu, but could only worry about one at a time, and right now their priority was to save Lucy from a dark fate.

They took off early in the morning hoping everything would fall into place.

Natsu saw them leave from a safe distance, and just walked away; he seemed tired and unfocused, there were circles under his eyes, his knuckles had several cuts from where he had tried to get rid of his frustration earlier that day.

He knew his friends had tried to find him, he had been about to get caught several times, but managed to escape by a couple of minutes; he couldn't face them if they knew what he had done to Lucy, of course they knew, why else would they be so determined to find him? The only reason why he had managed to stay away from the guild and keep some of his sanity, was because he knew Lucy was safe, he had tracked her scent since the day, just to make sure she was ok.

He was determined to leave for some time until he could figure everything out, that's until he ran into Merryl. The burns on her body were still quite visible, her hair was messier than usual, and her eyes seemed lost somewhere else; she was dragging her feet, and looked so broken…

"I thought I told you to leave!"

He noticed there was no response, so he walked towards her and pulled her arm, he didn't know how bad she'd been hurt by his fire until that moment, he’d been able to see some of the burns from the distance, but seeing her up close…

"He broke his promise...he said she would be ok… he lied" Merryl held him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him before she started crying again.

"Just leave Merryl; this is your last warning"

"He used me, you, your perfect little girlfriend too… oh he'll use her all right, as many times as he wants, he owns her fear now" the tears kept running down her face while she laughed at him and cupped his face "And you fell for his tricks, he fucking played you like a flute"

Natsu grabbed her by the neck and threw her to the floor, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You've probably seen him before; he marked you and made you live your worst fear over and over, and he got off on your pain. He made you shun her, and now you'll lose her forever, just as I lost my mother" she kept laughing to his face, he felt that thin thread disappearing once again, he was drifting into chaos slowly.

"Bullshit, fucking psycho… How the hell would you know that?"

"Oh, that's easy enough, he owns my fear too. I helped him get her, and you, we are all his now"

Natsu had been angry a couple of times, it was not a new feeling for him, but the intensity of this anger was quickly overshadowing any emotion he had felt before; this was not only anger, this was hate, he wanted her dead, he wanted to feel her warm blood on his hands and dripping down his body, he wanted to look as the last spark disappeared from her eyes, he could picture himself ripping her heart out with one hand and watching as her body twitched… he wanted to hear her plead for her life and laugh at her face for being so naïve, never before had he felt so much need to hurt someone.

"But I know something no one knows lover-boy… how about we make a deal?"

 

* * *

 

 

The Fairy tail guild arrived at their destination a few hours later. Their plan was set, but they still needed to find an in, a weakness in him that they could exploit.

"Gajeel… Can we talk in private?"

"What do you want Gray?"

"Look, I want to think everything will work out, but let's be honest; we barely have half a plan"

"What are you thinking about then?"

"If everything fails, I'm ready to make the hard choices… no matter the cost"

"You realize if we kill him, we'll have to leave the guild, to disappear… Would you be willing to do that, to leave everything behind?"

"For Natsu?... Flame head has been a pain in my ass since we were kids, he is stubborn, annoying, and extremely problematic… of course I would, he’s family… Gramps is right, he is… my best friend and I'll be damned if I let this guy take him out"

"What about Juvia?"

"You dragons and your lack of balls… Juvia knows about this, and she'll come with me if it comes to that"

A voice came from behind them "We're in" Laxus had been able to listen to them and got closer with Bickslow by his side. "I've been banned from the guild before and getting rid of the dick who's trying to screw with my family sounds like a better reason to"

"What's your excuse Bickslow?"

"Mah… mostly the same, also can't let that guy get into Lucy's pants, can we?" Bickslow stuck his tongue out as he often did, they didn't really know if this was his regular pervy self or him trying to break the tension.

 

* * *

 

 

"Welcome Fairy Tail!" Fukuro sounded excited. He stood on the door greeting every single guild member individually. Everyone that chose to go to the wedding was made aware of the situation, and the risk they were taking; they had decided to face this as a family.

"Well, why don't we figure out how many rooms you will need before we get on with our day"

Lucy held Fukuro by the arm and smiled at him trying to get him away from as many hands as she could; she refused to let him hold more of her friend’s lives in his power.

"That sounds like a perfect plan dear"

"Levy and I will take a room for ourselves" Levy immediately blushed while noticing all the inquiring looks staring their way, Gajeel put his arm around her neck and told her "I warned you I wouldn't leave your side shrimp… you are pretty much screwed" he gave her a big toothy smile and she simply muttered “Stupid Gajeel…”

"Gray-sama and Juvia will too!" Gray was looking the other way nervously but extended his hand to hold Juvia's.

Lucy giggled a bit, looking at Levy and Gray's face "Well it seems this will be a weekend full of surprises. If everyone agrees, I think that the Raijinshuu can share a room, Erza, Cana, and Wendy too; Master you will of course have your own room, and our happy couples can get rooms for themselves. The rest can accommodate as they please, would that work?"

"Well, it sounds like a plan then. You’ve heard our hosts brats! Let’s get moving" Makarov signaled everyone to go to their rooms to put everything away and walked towards Fukuro.

"You have a beautiful home"

"You honor me Master Makarov"

They walked side by side, Makarov held his hands behind his back "You also have a beloved daughter of mine, and I never got asked for my opinion"

"Will all due respect sir, you are not her father, and even if you were, I wouldn't have asked for permission" Fukuro gave him a smile without avoiding his eyes, political politeness mixed with disdain; a cocky smirk appeared on Makarov's face "I may not be her father but she is my daughter, young man. With age you come to find that some things are better asked that stolen"

 

* * *

 

 

Titania observed her friend; the card mage sat on one of the beds, legs crossed while scratching her chin, repeating the same motion with her cards for the last half an hour "Hey Cana… What are you doing?"

"Hm…hey Erza, just… trying to get something from my cards, I’m worried about him, something is not right"

"We are all worried about him Cana, but we need to focus on today; we'll kick some sense back into him some other time ok?" Erza smiled in a confident way trying to comfort Cana, but deep inside she was mortified about the suffering they put their friend through, not only that but the fact that he was now facing that suffering by himself.

They have all seen Natsu in pain at some point, but ever since Igneel’s dead things had not been the same and even if not everyone could tell, Erza did. Natsu had always been a happy guy, nerves of steel, easy going behavior, whatever he faced he would succeed and move forward, which was why it was so hard for everyone to see him so out of himself lately.

"I know, but it's not that Erza" She sighed, "I keep getting the same reading since Natsu left on that mission to begin with, it didn't make sense back then, but now…"

“Which mission?”

Cana took a deep breath and shook his head “The one where he met Merryl… that woman is trouble”

“Indeed” Erza sat next to Cana and put her hand on her shoulder, "Tell me what you see"

Cana started pointing at her cards to explain, "Suffering, Sacrifice, an unbreakable bond, and then nothing…"

"Cana what do you mean with nothing"

"Exactly that, noting… no outcome we can foresee, or expect"

 

* * *

 

 

Natsu was out of his mind with anger; his blood was boiling, this had happened under his nose, everyone knew what was happening but him and Lucy was too far right now. Merryl had given him all he needed, he was determined to see this through and would not rest until his hand felt Fukuro’s neck break on his grasp, he wanted to make him pay for everything he had done.

It was too much for him, he had been played like an idiot, he had let them all go out of fear of facing his mistakes and she was out there trying to keep him alive, she had lied to him… he knew her better than he knew himself, he should have been able to tell. Natsu was too angry and the darkness within had started taking over the corners of his mind again, this time… he didn’t try to stop it.

He grabbed Merryl by the neck and raised her from the floor, he held her there for a couple of seconds to look at her eyes, she saw no forgiveness, no light, nothing of what she had seen before.

In a quick move he threw her against the threes on the side, and she stayed there, lying on the floor; she wasn't scared, in her mind there was nothing to be scared of anymore, she just hoped the sweet relieve of death would take her soon now that she had set all wheels in motion, but it didn't come.

She looked up to see Natsu kneeling, both hands on the floor, fingers digging on the ground, panting. He started punching the ground so hard, the earth trembled at his touch, fire emanated from his body with such heath that it was hard to stand close to it, his flames were entwined, one pure crimson red, the other as black as charcoal, and then suddenly he stopped.

He stood up, patted his clothes in the most common way possible and started walking with a stern face as if nothing had happened.

"Wait!" She could barely stand but managed to get close enough to grab his leg, "Just end this! What are you waiting for?!"

He turned her way and she felt shivers down her spine, if she hadn't known him so well, she would have thought it wasn't him, this man standing in front of her was someone completely different.

"Do you think I am as merciful as to just finish you off?” He gave her a crooked grin that made her sweat and reconsider the decision to let him finish her “You may be useless now, but you don't deserve mercy" he knelt again and grabbed her chin with strength “If you want mercy… search for _your_ God… not for a demon” she had seen that face before, not on him, but Fukuro... Whatever had changed her former lover into the soulless monster he became, whatever pain he had experienced, it had now been forced upon someone else; he kicked her out of the way and left.

Merryl was left alone with her thoughts, she couldn't move now, but she didn't care. She finally understood how Fukuro ended up being the way he was, and she added one more regret to her long list; She'd played an important role to push Natsu a step closer of being just like him.

 


	11. Anxious Expectation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preparations and final details are being made while the guild keeps looking for a way out that doesn't seem to come, however things go south once an uninvited guest makes an appearance in a way that will be hard to forget.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry it took me so long, things have gone as well as I wished lately and it caused me to delay posting this chapter. One thing I could say is people are not always as loyal as the characters we grew up with, which is a shame, ANYWAYS, that was not the highlight of a bad month *Little violin plays in the background* Hope y'all enjoy this chapter. Come ti pare... non ci resta che piangere... bah Lol
> 
> Ch11 has been edited by the amazing Beta Nenley! Thanks!
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> "Those candle flames were like the lives of men. So fragile. So deadly. Left alone, they lit and warmed. Let run rampant, they would destroy the very things they were meant to illuminate. Embryonic bonfires, each bearing a seed of destruction so potent it could tumble cities and dash kings to their knees."  
> ― Brandon Sanderson, The way of kings

"Wait!" She could barely stand but managed to get close enough to grab his leg, "Just end this! What are you waiting for?!"

He turned her way and she felt shivers down her spine, if she hadn't known him so well, she would have thought it wasn't him, this man standing in front of her was someone completely different.

"Do you think I am as merciful as to just finish you off?" He gave a crooked grin that made her sweat and reconsider the decision to let him finish her "You may be useless now, but you don't deserve mercy" he knelt again and grabbed her chin with strength "If you want mercy… search for your God… not for a demon" she had seen that face before, not on him, but Fukuro... Whatever had changed her former lover into the soulless monster he became, whatever pain he had experienced, it had now been forced upon someone else; he kicked her out of the way and left.

Merryl was left alone with her thoughts, she couldn't move now, but she didn't care. She finally understood how Fukuro ended up being the way he was, and she added one more regret to her long list; She'd played an important role to push Natsu a step closer of being just like him.

* * *

The day was going as expected in the current situation, fake polite smiles going around along with gentle nods, people touring the amazing manor to "bask in its exquisite design" and expensive decoration, however, this was merely an excuse for all mages to snoop around and find more information.

The guild had not given up yet in finding a way to bring everyone home, and even with short time and resources, Fairy tail was yet to meet an enemy they couldn't defeat.

The house was full of people taking care of the food, tables, chairs, flowers, ribbons, no money was spared on the wedding preparations; so many things to do in so little time. Everything was being set for the big event later that day and the only person looking forward to it was the host.

Lucy was sitting in her room looking at her reflection in mirror; her golden hair still shone with the sunlight that came from her window, and her light brown eyes were still big, so, she hadn't physically change, however, her lips had gotten used to the fake smile by now, her big eyes now broadcasted a shadow of uncertainty and sadness and that alone was reason enough to know things were not the same.

She missed writing letters to her mother, it had been such an important part of her day for so long, and now she had left that behind too. Lucy had continued writing to her mother for a couple of weeks after her arrival, but she soon realized those letters were no longer private, she had no outlet, no one to talk to, no way to get her frustration out, and it was driving her crazy.

Lucy was distracted with her thoughts, observing her defeated appearance when she noticed someone else looking at her reflection and she was forced to change her sadden look into a painful smile.

"Hi Fukuro, I didn't notice when you came in"

He got closer and rested his hand on her dressing table "So, Lulu" his long clean fingers started tapping on the white surface impatiently "Are you finally going to tell me about your trip to the guild?"

"I already told you about it, there's not much else to tell, I just spent some time with my friends, that's all"

"Which friends?"

Lucy did her best not to roll her eyes and instead she forced her smile a bit more "The same friends that are here now, who else?

Fukuro tighten his lips into a thin line and stared at her with such intensity that she felt like the mirror was going to break "So, you didn't see your pet lizard then?"

Lucy felt her blood freeze instantly, she didn't know if he was fishing for information or if he knew what had really happened, but just his tone and expression were enough to send shivers down her spine.

She opened her mouth to speak but was shut down immediately when he slammed his hand on the dressing table "Please don't tell me you think I'm that naive? I'm completely aware that Vincent wasn't with you all the time, hell, I even know your little friend waited for you like the pathetic piece of shit he is and then ran away like a child"

"Fukuro…"

"No… you are going to tell me why he was in your apartment Luce" Him using Natsu's name for her almost made her vomit, when her best friend called her that, her heart jumped in joy and she felt like she was home, but as soon as it rolled out of Fukuro's mouth it sounded wrong and dirty.

"He was just there, and then he left… there's nothing to it"

His voice took a demanding tone, his expression had changed again to something other than human, something that couldn't be controlled "I want to know what happened, and you'll tell me now or I'll take him out"

Lucy had mastered being agreeable, pleasant and conversational; she had done her best to keep him happy since that was the only thing she could do while preparing to take him down, but the moment he threatened Natsu she felt all the masks she had placed above her face fall and break on the marble floor. She looked straight into his eyes with the coldest stare he'd seen in months, her well-practiced smile was gone in a matter of seconds.

"If you take him out then I have no reason to stay, do I?" he scrunched his nose and huffed "You are right, I do think you are the naive one here, I wish I didn't have to remind you that you can't take him out without me making sure your family legacy is buried, so why don't you tone it down a bit and ask again? Politely this time"

Fukuro's fists were clenching, his eyes were filled with anger and it took everything he had to be able to contain himself, but in the end, he took a deep breath and came back to his usual calm demeanor.

"What did he want?"

Lucy turned her face to the mirror and started brushing her shiny blond hair, her well-practiced smile back in place.

"He wanted to know about you" he moved to stand behind her and placed his long pale fingers on her shoulders placing a little pressure "And what did you tell him?"

"I told him the truth, that we were getting married, and that he needed to stay away from me"

"Is that all, dear…?"

"Yeah, that's it"

Lucy knew she couldn't lie to him, but she also knew telling him a half-truth would give her some peace while she kept trying to figure a way out; she didn't have much time left.

* * *

"Levy we are running out of time" Erza's confidence which was usually higher when in battle was draining by the minute; the idea of being unprepared for what was to come had never bothered her before, she had always known Fairy Tail would defeat any enemy, but now, facing someone who could quite possibly take her friends away before she could react… she felt fearful.

"I have nothing! I've searched every corner of this damn house, I've tried to research on this type of magic, I even got ahold of someone I trust in the council to ask about it, we have nothing… it's almost as if the records of his magic had never existed!"

"Maybe they didn't… and that could only have a couple of explanations… either this was never recorded, or someone was covering their tracks"

Levy's heart ached for her friends too, she had always felt left behind in strength by the people around her but never had she felt as useless as now. She didn't have as much strength as others, and now… her usually praised intelligence was taking her nowhere as well.

While frustration accumulated in the room, Cana sat on one of the beds, legs crossed and rubbing her chin, completely dumbfounded by her usually accurate readings. She had kept trying to get something from her cards without much luck, her readings were the same as before… Suffering, Sacrifice, an unbreakable bond, and then nothing. Her voice interrupted the ongoing argument of her guild mates.

"We don't have a choice… darkness is closing on us and there's no way out. What are we going to do if we don't find a way to break the ties? We can't just watch this happen!"

Silence filled the room, Erza's jaw tightened, and when she was finally able to speak, her voice trembled trying to swallow the knot in her throat "If we can't find a way out, we'll have to choose who to save, won't we?"

Cana's eyes widen in surprise at the severity of her friend's comment, just the thought of choosing one of them made her stomach tumble "Erza we can't make that choice! They are our friends!" Levy stomped her foot on the floor "They are more than our friends, they are our family!"

"You both know as well as I do… if we don't find a way to stop this, it will come to letting Lucy get married and picking the broken pieces of Natsu's heart back up… or stopping the wedding and preparing ourselves to claim his body. Either way, one of them will never be able to forgive us"

Reality sunk in feeling like a bomb in their stomachs and tearing their throats to pieces; Levy was the first to let the tears run down her face, everyone was trying to hide their pain without much success when Erza stood from her place; she walked to the window and made a decision with the determination that was so distinctive of her. She wiped the tears with the back of her hand before speaking.

"Ok,so… we skip the paperwork…" The room went silent again, aside from a couple sniffles "Our original plan was to strip him of his power and turn him in, expecting for the magic council to judge him fairly, those are the rules… but what if someone there covers for him?"

"He could still hurt them… he could hurt any of us" Levy ran her hands through her hair and sighed heavily.

"If we can't trust the council to deliver justice, then… we'll have to take him out ourselves"

Both mages blinked a couple of times and stared at Erza with a baffled expression, they could hear and understand the words coming from her mouth, but they would never think that she meant what she was saying. Erza, the Queen of the fairies, the great Titania, the kind of girl that would seek justice, her joy and pride was the guild, and was incapable of doing something to bring shame to it.

"Erza... what you are talking about… We can't… If we do…" Erza turned to the script mage and raised her hand asking her to stop "I know, I'm not asking you to do it, but when the time comes I do ask you stay out of my way…"

Levy shook her head and stood up, she walked towards her friend and grabbed both her hands "If it comes to it, we'll stay together. We'll protect our family at any cost"

Cana gave them a silent nod; her hands were still shaking from the idea. She felt the nothingness creeping into her chest and cutting into her heart; after losing her mother she never though she would have to lose someone else, but something she had learnt in the wizard world, was that no one could guarantee your life when your job was to go into battle.

After a few minutes to let their agreement sink, Levy left the room and walked down the aisle leading to her own chamber; she opened the door without much concern apparently interrupting an intense conversation between an odd group of people, the four mages present stopped talking as she entered the room and stared at her nervously.

Gray cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head "So I guess we are done then".

She read their body language and decided something suspicious was going on; she stared at Bickslow who would usually jump at the first opportunity to be a total jerk, making fun of people and moving on, was looking down, arms crossed above his chest wearing a solemn expression.

Laxus noticed her staring at them and slapped Bicklow's shoulder sending a minor shock of electricity to his body, "So let's leave the love birds to it, I'm sure they don't need an audience"

The comment and the sting on his arm made him snap out of his thoughts, he laughed and stuck his tongue out trying to go back to his regular demeanor, it was obvious he was trying too hard to contain whatever was on his mind.

"Gray…"

He froze at the door and turned slowly towards her "Yeah?"

"Could you please take your shirt with you?"

"Dammit! Yeah… ok" He moved as quickly as his legs allowed him to and picked his shirt from the floor "see you later!" he slammed the door shut leaving an awkward silence behind him.

Levy leaned against the door and stared at him waiting for him to say something, but he remained quiet, she cleared her throat hoping to elicit a reaction, but he remained stoic on the other end of the room.

"So… ?"

"So? You want to get some lunch shrimp?"

"Are you seriously not telling me what's going on?"

"Nothing is going on, we were just… talking"

"Sure… you were having a friendly conversation with Bicks, Laxus, and Gray of all people… your're a terrible liar" she stared at him for a bit, trying to pressure him into saying something until she got tired of waiting "You said you were going to try to do things right, this doesn't feel like trying, you know?"

Gajeel bit his lower lip and looked down; Levy was his everything and he had sworn to himself to keep her from harm, but what if that pain came from him?

"I… may have to leave the guild, I know I said I wouldn't leave your side shorty, but I… I need to do this…"

Levy recognized the look on his face and signaled him to stop; she tilted her head and smiled. He was amazed, every time she spoke, smiled, every time she took a breath, she amazed him to the point where his heart would feel like it was going to stop beating.

"You did say you wouldn't leave my side… so don't" Gajeel lowered his face, he wasn't ready to deny her anything; he was thinking hard on how to redirect this conversation when she spoke again "Where should we go then?"

Gajeel was taken by surprise; he was sure he hadn't done anything to deserve the amount of luck he had when the adorable bluenette came into his life "I would never ask you to come with me Lev"

"You are not asking… I'll go wherever you go" he shook his head and smiled at her "The guild is your home shrimp" she walked towards him and placed her hand above his chest "You are home too… and you are not getting rid of me that easy"

His smile got even bigger; he hugged her, kissed her lips and whispered, "The world is ours, we'll go wherever you want to go, I 'll show you whatever you want to see shrimp" Levy returned his smile and gave him a long sweet kiss, when she finally let go, it was time to see the bride to be.

* * *

Fukuro sat on the library holding an old book with a red dusty cover, it was so thick that its spine was held by a single thread; he rubbed his chin trying to make sense of the words from the old text, that contained all details for the ceremonies that needed to take place between him and his bride.

He had heard most details from his parents when he was younger, but a man like Fukuro would never take chances in regards of something as important as this, after all his purpose had always been to continue his bloodline.

Fukuro was taking notes completely lost in his thoughts when he heard a cracking noise coming from the terrace; he stood up and placed the book on the table when suddenly a burning smell filled his nostrils, he moved faster now and made his way to the glass door, but stopped right after crossing it, his eyes widen in surprise for a second and he slammed his fist on the door frame.

He observed the terrace, there was no one there; the beautiful place which was once covered by his mother's special collection of deadly flowers from side to side was now empty; every flower had been reduced to nothing but ashes. He walked around covering his nose and mouth using his sleeve with a stunned expression; each and every one of those flowers was dangerous by itself but all of them mixed together… he was sure the deadly combination of fumes could cause either long term or permanent damage to anyone who dared to stand there for more than a couple of seconds.

He wasn't worried about himself; his mother, as terrible as she'd been, had made sure most known poisons were of no concern to him using different methods, one of them being exposing him over and over to small amounts since his younger years.

The more he walked the more he saw this was no simple attack, but a warning; it hadn't touched any other part of the house, it had been so well controlled that the fire, as destructive as it had been, had not broken the windows. Once he got to the middle of the terrace, he saw the once beautifully made cement bench, in pieces scattered on the floor.

The thin gold lines seemed to have melted from the heat and were now returning to their solid state on the torched floor, the zodiac clock was nothing but dust; he clenched his fists and gritted his teeth when suddenly something caught his eye; above the pieces of the engraved cement bed laid a wedding invite; the once beautiful white paper still burning from its sides.

"Salamander…"

Yes, the idea of Natsu being behind this was the first thing that crossed his mind, however he disregarded it quite quickly; the Fire Dragon Slayer was strong and definitely capable of such a thing, however he was not as restrained as to not burn the house down, not only that but he had been marked by Fukuro's magic and if he had been there, he would have sensed him immediately and gotten rid of him in a heartbeat.

Of course, he was angry about the destruction, he would have to rebuild the terrace in order to continue with his plans, and although the wedding wouldn't be delayed, his wedding night would. He wasn't too worried about the attack, whomever had caused the fire would not be around for long, the poison in the fumes would take care of breaking someone's mind and body until the point of death, no normal mage would ever survive that.

* * *

Everything was ready, the wedding would be taking place outside at Lucy's request despite the cold weather; she'd always loved the garden view from her window and decided that if this was imminent, she would do it the way she pictured it.

She didn't feel defeated, her strength came from knowing he would be ok and even if it pained him, Natsu would survive whatever came his way, as long as she knew that, she could continue.

Shimmering lights, white chair rows, flowers; it looked like an actual fairy tale wedding. The aisle was decorated with a long white carpet, and to the sides on every third chair row, big metallic fire torches to keep warm in the midst of winter.

Lucy stood there observing the beautiful details and trying to hold her tears while holding Levy's hand, "So this is happening" Levy squeezed her fingers and bit her lip "Lu… We'll figure it out, everyone is working really hard"

"No Levy" the celestial mage gave her friend a sweet smile that didn't quite reach her eyes "We both know is too late for us to figure anything out. I just need to make sure Natsu is being taken care of, ok?"

"Lucy… come on, you can't give up now"

"You guys need to promise not to leave him alone, he'll be the biggest pain in the ass after I'm completely gone" There were tears running down her face along with a painful smile "Lu…"

"Promise… just do this for me…"

"I promise…"

Lucy nodded and turned on her heel to go back inside the manor; it made no sense to delay the inevitable, and with that the process started.

She took care of hair, makeup and clothes in her room, the girls sat with her during the process looking gloomier than ever; the situation hadn't completely sunk and although they knew there wasn't enough time, they kept thinking on ways to get both their friends out of this situation.

Fairy Tail was used to thinking that in the end everything would work out in their favor, because it usually did; the guild was known for the crazy amount of miracles they had managed to come up with throughout the years… but now it felt like they had finally run out of luck.

Lucy sat in front of her mirror placing the finishing touches on her hair; a couple of pearly white hair pins with golden rose flowers. She grabbed her pink lipstick and took one last look at her reflection when she heard the rushed footsteps on the aisle outside her room.

Gajeel punched the door open startling everyone while still trying to catch his breath "Get your stuff now, we are leaving"

Lucy almost wanted to laugh at his incoherent words "Wow if only I knew it was that simple Gajeel! Are you fucking kidding me?" she rolled her eyes and turned to the mirror again; Gajeel moved quickly and pulled Lucy from her shoulder, before raising his voice; it was almost a feral sound, like a growl from a wild animal, "I have no time for your shit Bunny girl! Leave everything behind and move! We've got to go"

Levy knew him well, there was no way this was a normal situation; she walked to him and grabbed his arm "What the hell is happening?"

"My nose is never wrong and believe me when I say, there's nothing good about what's coming our way, whatever the cost… we need to make sure everyone gets out of here"

"Whatever the cost?" Gajeel bit his lip and pointed at the door "Just go Levy, please!"

Gajeel was the cold sarcastic idiot everyone had learned to love but seeing that desperate look on his face was not something they were used to. The girls started running towards the stairs; everyone seemed to be moving following the lead of the same suspicious group Levy had interrupted not too long ago.

When they reached the first floor, most of the guild was already there making their way towards the door, it seemed no one knew what was happening, but they had all recognized the danger in their friend's eyes.

Gray was walking with the last of the group when he looked out the window, his mouth opened, and his eyes widen; the sight was too impressive to look away.

He saw what seemed to be his best friend walking slowly, hair covering his forehead with hooded eyes facing front, he was passed what used to be the front gate, now laid deformed and melted on the floor; Natsu was calmly making his way to the house through the middle of the road. It almost seemed as if the mere contact of his body heat was destroying everything around him.

Every step Natsu took created a flame that left a scorch mark on the stone floor, and as he moved forward the trees surrounding him would burst into flames, causing fire columns to rise every time he moved ahead and making the sky look orange and red. The beautiful tree line was now a memory, and, in its place, hell rose from below the ground making everything in the slayer's way die. He was walking at a normal pace, calm, hands in his pockets, his regular outfit and his muffler around his neck as if everything was ok.

Gray had only seen one mage kill everything around him while he walked and saying him and Natsu had a couple of things in common was an understatement; the scene made him remember Zeref, but instead of black strings suffocating life, fire was the one making it impossible for anything to survive.

He ran to the front door pulling everyone from the entrance and standing in front of them with his arms wide open; in a brave but dumb display, Gajeel, Laxus and Bickslow followed his lead.

Of course, in the midst of danger, no one was that interested in getting their host out of the house, so, he was the last one down the stairs.

"What the hell is going on here?" Fukuro was sure the fairies had been plotting against him and seeing them all together near the door was evidence enough for him.

"I told you sometimes things are better asked than stolen kid, we can't control what's going to happen now" Makarov's voice showed concern instead of his usual confidence and that was reason enough for the rest of his children to shiver.

"This is exactly what you all wanted! To ruin this day for us!"

"Boy, this is something you brought upon yourself… and we failed to stop it"

"You old fool!" Fukuro felt his anger rising, he would not let them take away everything he had worked for "Lucy come here, Now!" he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled but felt resistance.

Lucy didn't really know what was happening, but she trusted her guild mates with her life.

"Wait! Please"

Fukuro held her wrist up angrily in a way that would surely leave a bruise, he gave her that look she had feared for the last couple of months, and without warning he slapped her across the face causing her to tumble and fall to the ground.

The scene to follow unfolded almost in slow motion, just when the sharp sound of their friend being slapped echoed in everyone's ears, a bright firebolt crossed the room blinding them before hitting Fukuro in the chest with such strength that he was thrown back.

The temperature of the room became hotter every time Natsu took a step closer to them, it was almost too much to bear; each step he took was followed by the cracking sound of the marble floors breaking under the heat of his body and the pressure of his feet.

Fukuro managed raise his head and attempted to stand up, he cleaned his mouth with the back of his hand before mumbling "You are dead Salamander"

A crooked grin appeared on Natsu's face, it was not his usual smile but something else; the room froze at the sight of him taking a jump and landing on top of his prey in an animalistic way, his left arm, which was now covered in crimson scales clawed into Fukuro's shoulder, burning its way through skin and muscle.

Natsu placed his face right next to his ear "Who said you could touch her?", he pushed his claws deeper; Fukuro's blood poured on the once white and shiny floors; he gritted his teeth trying to swallow his own screams, and then grinned back with a bit of blood coming out if his mouth "Farewell Salamander…"

"NO!"

Lucy's high pitch scream resonated through the room as the realization of what was going to happen sunk in breaking everyone out of their astonishment and causing for the rest of their friends to close their eyes to avoid seeing the strongest man they have met fall under such circumstances.

She placed her face against the floor and cried, all the times he had been there to comfort her or bring her back home were rushing through her mind, the last thing she remembered was the glowing Sakura tree passing through her window and the smile of her best friend.


	12. The thin thread

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing could have prepared them for the challenge ahead, they could see him standing there... but who was he now? the friend or the enemy? the good or the evil? 
> 
> When the fight became harder and lives seemed to be lost, would Fairy Tail emerge victorious?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thanks to awesome Nenley who had this ready in no time! (You Rock!) 
> 
> Ok, so I am feeling much better, focusing more on my writing and will try to post as often as possible. I have some vacation days coming which will be used for me to relax and write. I still feel off but apparently betrayal is only cured by time *Voice in my head slaps me for the unneeded drama* mah! va bene... 
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> "She taught me all about real sacrifice. That it should be done from love... That it should be done from necessity, not without exhausting all other options. That it should be done for people who need your strength because they don't have enough of their own."  
> ― Veronica Roth, Allegiant

Natsu placed his face right next to his ear "Who said you could touch her?", he pushed his claws deeper; Fukuro's blood poured on the once white and shiny floors. He gritted his teeth trying to swallow his own screams, and then grinned back with a bit of blood coming out if his mouth "Farewell Salamander…"

"NO!"

Lucy's high pitch scream resonated through the room as the realization of what was going to happen sunk in, breaking everyone out of their astonishment and causing for the rest of their friends to close their eyes to avoid seeing the strongest man they have met fall under such circumstances.

She placed her face against the floor and cried, all the times he had been there to comfort her or bring her back home were rushing through her mind, the last thing she remembered was the glowing Sakura tree passing through her window and the smile of her best friend.

* * *

Lucy was still kneeling, facing the floor with both hands covering her head; she had stopped screaming but kept sobbing loudly, everything else was silent; it seemed as if time had stopped for everyone but her, she was too scared to look up and see his body laying on the floor.

Her nightmare kept coming back to her; dark clouds covering everything and claiming everyone she loved for itself; loneliness creeping into her heart, and pain, so much pain eating away her soul in an instant. She could hear her heartbeat on her ears, and it was so loud she swore her eardrums would give.

The silence continued and every second that passed made it harder for her to face the truth, those few seconds felt like hours to her. She held on to what she could, the memories of her life at the guild seemed too beautiful and distant; she kept imagining his big innocent grin, and all the times he had pushed through his limits just to make sure everyone was safe. Sure, he tended to go overboard, but his heart was always in the right place, there wasn't a thing he wouldn't do for his family and she had always feared that instinct would take him away from her.

The beautiful memories faded away as soon as she started imagining how her life would be without him, she could see herself wasting her life away by crying on his grave, unwilling to leave his last resting place; sitting alone in her room, looking at her lonely window, closed and undisturbed by her uninvited guest; a silent guild without the constant brawling of Natsu and Gray… how colorless would life be without him now.

She bit hard on her lip until the coppery taste of blood made its way into her mouth, she was convincing herself to raise her head from the ground when a shrieking sound brought her back to the present and led her away from her nightmare. Once she was able to look up, there was no way to remove her eyes from the scene unfolding before her.

There he was, the boy with the innocent grin and the energy to go for miles; there were crimson scales covering more than half his back, left shoulder, and calf. His grin completely gone and replaced by a feral expression, even the position he took looked non-human, he resembled more of a predatory animal than to her best friend… but he was alive.

"Natsu…" Lucy didn't think about it twice, she tried to walk towards him but crashed against Gajeel's heavy arm "Now is not the time bunny girl…"

Lucy could tell his body language had changed too, his usual speed replaced by calculated slow moves as if measuring the situation "Get your hands off me Gajeel! Natsu!"

He remained unresponsive, unmoving… so unlike the person they knew. Despite of Gajeel's warnings, some of his friends started slowly moving closer thinking that he would snap out of whatever was happening to him. In a split second the room temperature skyrocketed followed by a burst of energy; the flare that came from it quickly built into a fire way that moved dangerously close to them.

"Ice-Make: Block!"

"Solid Script: Shield!"

They barely made it in time to stop the fire from reaching them; their shields quickly broke under such a powerful strike; as powerful as Gray's demon slayer magic was, and as resourceful as Levy could be, their magic was no match for Natsu's at this point.

The sense of fear invaded the room and leaked through every single pore on their bodies. One of their best friends had just attacked them without blinking, without even turning to face them. He was one of the most loyal people they knew, and still they couldn't help but think they were all in danger.

Fukuro was in pain but wasn't scared at all; his wicked smile made an appearance as he glanced at the crowd. Natsu felt a sudden sharp pain on his right eye and held his hand against it; his head has throbbing and the feeling on illness in his body was too much to contain.

He could see what was happening but couldn't stop it, just like in his nightmare about Lucy; his body felt heavy and his mind was dizzy and for some reason, certain things in his view seemed more real than others, as if there was a glossy quality to the ones that were not meant to be.

"Get out!" His growl resonated against the walls of the manor causing every single mage to shiver, it was a deeper tone than usual, raspy and rough.

Erza took a step his way and tried to reach out to him with her right hand; a second growl, deeper and more intense than the first one made her stop in her tracks "Get the fuck out!"

"Natsu… come on, let me…"

"Erza get back…" Natsu's voice was softer than before, even softer than his usual voice. His words were full of pain and regret and it tore a piece of everyone's hearts to hear him like that. He saw Erza through the corner on his eye; he had memorized her scent since they were kids, therefore it would be hard to trick him; however, the image he saw was not the one of his dear friend, but of dark shadows and claws.

The throbbing became harder and a sharp pain invaded his head causing him to release Fukuro's shoulder. Natsu was now hitting the floor with his fists; every time he looked around, the dark shadows closed in on him, and despite recognizing the scents, his eyes and mind kept playing tricks on him.

He punched the floor a couple more times, before stopping cold; he was breathing heavily for a couple of seconds before turning around to face the shadows around him. Fairy Tail went silent, Natsu's deep darkened eyes staring right at them, his sharper teeth showing. The scales had spread a bit further into his back and they glowed with the power of a volcano.

There were only a few seconds left of his sanity, and during that time he couldn't help but to go back to his last conversation with Merryl.

* * *

_"But I know something no one knows lover-boy… how about we make a deal?"_

_"You took everything from me! What can you possibly offer?!"_

_"I can offer you a way to save your… non-girlfriend. But if you are not interested, then I guess we can let her and the rest of your sad friends to his mercy… let's see how that turns out for them"_

_"Measure your words carefully...they may be your last Merryl"_

_"I'm fine with that; I'm not planning to pretend I deserve any better than him. I'll tell you everything you need to know, but you need to make me a promise. If I'm telling you this then you need to make sure he is dead"_

_"That's not even something you need to ask for"_

_"Well then...what is it that you fear the most Natsu? And don't give me that crap about losing her, because that is just a consequence, not the fear itself"_

_"Losing everything important to me by becoming… a monster…"_

_"Well aren't you a cute duo. Her fear is for you to die. That little thing you feel in the back of your head is him killing you little by little"_

_"How is that going to help me you lying piece of shit!"_

_"Man, you people are dumb. He can only kill humans Natsu, humans fear. He is using her fear to kill you, but he will only accomplish to kill… well you, the actual you"_

_"So that's why... "_

_"Ding Ding! Her fear of you dying is making your fear come true, but he doesn't know that he'll be setting the demon lose. How much do you trust your friends?"_

_"With my life…"_

_"That's good. Once you are gone, you'll still be marked but he won't be able to control your fear, her fear will be reality and it will become sadness, so he won't control her either"_

_"What happens after that?"_

_"Well, you know how you just said you trust them with your life? I don't think there's a way back love, they are going to have to stop you"_

* * *

Natsu stood up and cracked his neck as he allowed the scales to take over the rest of his body. The tension in the room was so thick that it could have been cut with a knife.

It took everyone by surprise when they heard three deep growls coming from different directions, they didn't know how or why, but the present situation had made the rest of the slayers react out of pure instinct. Their change wasn't visibly obvious as Natsu's, but the energy surrounding them and the look in their eyes told everyone to stay away.

Their movements were almost feral, well planned and calculated as they moved around with long stealthy steps, cold stares and sharp teeth.

Gajeel was surrounded by his shadows and covered in metal scales; Wendy automatically went to Dragon Force with an airstream swirling around her while her pink hair floated around her, Laxus despite being an "artificial" dragon slayer had adopted many of the same instincts and had a dangerous looking thunderbolt around him.

The nature of a dragon was a mystery to most people, they only knew what the slayers had told them, which wasn't much. First and third generation slayers had been raised by Dragons but their knowledge was limited, due to being by themselves at such a young age.

Everyone knew dragons were possessive of their spaces and their stuff, they were natural hoarders; however, the notion of territorialism and their reactions to incitement were not a common topic; which is why everyone was holding their breath.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, although no one was able to see it through the bright lights around them. Laxus was the first to attack trying to establish his dominance and causing the rest of the slayers to join the battle. The guild didn't know what was happening, but they wished this came from the need to protect their friends and not only to prove who was the strongest.

"Why is he not dead?! Just fucking die already!" Fukuro was now finally feeling anxious about the situation. He observed the scene playing in front of him with frustration, and he decided the game Fairy Tail played had gone too far; they had to be stopped.

The slayers kept exchanging punches, and everyone could see that this battle was not as any of the ones they've had before, no one was holding back. Gajeel had summoned his Karma Demon: Iron God Sword when from the corner of his eye he saw Fukuro raising his good arm with his palm facing Levy; there wasn't even enough time for him to panic, Levy was holding Lucy when she collapsed.

Gajeel stopped completely and turned around to go to her causing him to not pay attention to the fire covered claw about to reach him, he was thrown so far back that he was slammed against the last wall of the (barely standing) manor.

"Levy!" Lucy tried shaking her friend, the bluenette was still alive but gasping for air and every second that passed her face became paler and her lips tainted to a color that could have matched her hair. Fukuro was playing games with them, instead of killing them he had decided to trap them in a place between life and death, a permanent nightmare.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe...which mage will be next one to go" his wretched laughter echoing off the manor's walls, burning into everyone's ears. He'd been so quiet for the last few minutes and the danger in front of them was so big that the importance of his presence had been disregarded and the fairies blamed themselves for forgetting he was there.

"I feel so much fear in this room, its scent is intoxicating, like a drug"

He had figured the slayers would kill each other eventually and decided to move on to other strong guild members; after all, he had touched most of them while he played host, and now they had nowhere to run.

"This one looks promising; you are going to regret setting foot inside my house Salamander" he said before moving his hand to his next victim.

"Elfman!" Mira cried while holding Lisanna.

"NOO!" Lisanna's shout of agony filled the room. Bruises and cuts appeared on her body as she shook on the ground on her sister's arms.

"Lisanna!" Elfman and Mira were crying looking at their sister drift away from them once again; they had lived through that once and the mere thought of them doing it again was already unbearable.

Natsu was the one to stop now observing the scene as small memories crossed his mind; he saw himself sitting on the little house Lisanna had built to care for the egg he'd found, laughing at something he had said. That second caused him to lose focus, and to be knocked on the ground by an electric stream that cracked the scales on his left arm.

Juvia was standing behind Gray when she noticed Fukuro smiling and staring at him. Her heart stopped for a second before she turned him around and held him; Gray was confused and annoyed, even at this time, she managed to get her priorities mixed.

"Juvia what the hell are you doing!" He tried to push her away, but she resisted with all her strength.

"Juvia is sorry she was such a pain Gray-sama"

He stopped pushing and looked at the tears running down her face; she lifted her head to look at him "Juvia really does love you. Juvia hopes you are happy someday" She pushed him aside and ran towards Fukuro who saw right through her.

"You guys are so fucking predictable" Aiming now at Juvia he closed his hand and with that, she was on the ground. It almost seemed as she was melting into water, as if her body slowly lost the ability to maintain its form.

Gray landed on his knees; he was in such a state of shock he didn't notice the tears streaming down his face. She had done it again… she had sacrificed herself for him once more and he had done nothing. The woman who had fought her way into his heart was laying there in front of the person who was, little by little breaking his family apart.

The dark marks of the demon slayer made their way into his arm, chest and face, and with an incredible speed, he charged towards Fukuro. Gray grabbed his neck and got him of the ground, he placed his hand on his chest and started freezing him, he wanted to cause him all the pain he could, so, he was aiming to make this last.

"You killed her!"

Fukuro clenched his teeth to hide the pain "Oh no Mr. Fullbuster, you killed her. Well she's still dying but this is your fault, she'll drift like water on your fingers because she decided to give her life before I took yours"

Natsu shook his head as he stood up from the ground. The ceiling was barely there, and half the walls were broken, the stairway was shattered but those details didn't matter. The hit he took cleared his mind enough to gain some conscious, but he knew that wouldn't last.

He saw Gray holding onto Fukuro, his friend crying as he'd never seen him cry before, and Juvia lying behind him, his eyes moved a bit more to see Gajeel making his way to Levy, screaming at her to wake up; and finally, Lisanna on the floor being held by her brother and sister.

He grabbed his chest and held his hand to his heart and then he saw her. Lucy was still kneeling watching him while hitting the floor with her opened hand, she was screaming something, but he couldn't hear her, all his senses were numbed. It sounded like a muffled echo.

"Natsu! Natsu!"

He couldn't let this happen; he was determined to not let any of them carry the burden of taking a life, whether it was his life or Fukuro's was irrelevant to him at that point. In the blink of an eye, Natsu was standing between Gray and his enemy.

"Get out of my way flame brain!" Gray threw a punch at Natsu who held his fist and squeezed it.

"He's mine Ice-prick. Step away"

There was something odd, Gray couldn't point it out. That was a very Natsu-like answer, but he didn't look like himself anymore. He wondered… was he still Natsu?

Natsu clawed Fukuro's shoulder violently and dragged him, leaving a blood trail on the once white marble floor, he slammed the dark mage against the it and stood on top of him, a foot on each side.

"Well whatever you do to me now Salamander, won't bring anyone back. You've caused your friends such a loss"

Natsu's grin returned; he looked a bit more in control now "I have… and they don't deserve it, but…do you want to know what you did wrong? You messed with the wrong family pal"

He let his weight fall as he sat on Fukuro's stomach and he held his head down with one hand, while the other moved towards his shoulder. He pointed one of his black claws underneath the gashing wound he had caused and poked the skin before moving to draw a circle.

Fukuro fought as much as he could to remove Natsu's burning hand from his forehead, but his physical strength couldn't hold a candle to his opponent.

Once Natsu closed the circle, he removed the fabric first exposing the black owl mark on his shoulder. He then placed his claws on top of it, putting enough pressure to make him bleed again; with one swift move he pulled his claw back, removing the skin patch completely and throwing it to the side as if it was nothing but garbage.

Fukuro screamed and cried in pain while everyone shockingly observed Natsu still holding him down, not showing the slightest amount of mercy, or flinching at the sight of the pain he was causing.

"Why won't you die!?"

"Oh, that… I'm sure I did, or kind of did… It hurts like a mother fucker, great job!" Natsu got his face closer to Fukuro's "Riddle me this… what do you get when you try to kill the human holding a demon inside?"

"But you… you are not…" Even then Fukuro's face was not one of panic, but confusion. Cana felt a shock down her spine. The cards kept showing suffering, sacrifice, an unbreakable bond, and then nothing.

"How could I be so stupid!?" She raised her hands to the ceiling in exasperation; it had been in front of her all along. Makarov and Erza had been busy trying to contain as much magic as they could to protect the rest and were almost out of power when Cana approached them.

"Erza! it wasn't nothing. It was NOTHING!"

"Cana now is not the time!"

"You don't get it! It's THE nothing, nothing else after! END!" The guild members who were still standing looked at Cana while they let the information sink in. After the last time, they didn't think Natsu could go back to that state, Zeref was gone and his book had been rewritten after all.

Natsu saw them connecting the dots and used all the power he had to keep himself together. He yelled at them from the distance "It's ok! I snapped, seems all that training is paying off guys"

Lucy smiled, her heart swelled knowing her friend was there, standing so close to her; his voice sounded almost normal again; she got up quickly to run towards him but he lifted his hand and signaled her to stop.

"Don't…" she stopped and held her hand above her heart "But Natsu, you said you were ok"

"Luce… I'll hold on for as much as I can, but this is it… I can't do this anymore. I just have a couple things to do before…"

"Before?..."

"Before you guys have to take me out" he tried to smile at them, which turned out to be harder than he thought. The one thing Natsu had always managed to do was smile in any situation, of course, it wasn't always an honest smile but a promise he had made and had kept over the years.

"Are you out of your mind!? You are our family!" Lucy's words tasted bitter in her mouth, just thinking about it made her heart ache "I could never hurt you Natsu, please!"

"Listen… It's not too late Luce. None of them are dead yet, but they are suffering so much, I can't let this happen. If I do this now, maybe, they won't leave... They are also family Luce, I need to make sure everyone's safe"

"You, stupid child! no one can undo what I did!" Fukuro was still laying on the ground, covering his bloody shoulder with one hand and staring at them with as much hate as his heart could contain. The thin thread holding Natsu teared a bit again and he could only shake his head to try to keep it together. A deep growl came from Natsu's throat as he sank his claws through Fukuro's ribs; not killing him yet.

"Take them away gramps" Makarov sighed deeply before nodding; he ordered them out noticing some stayed behind. Gajeel held Levy and gave her to Jet and Droy. "Take care of her"

"What in Mavis' name do you brats think you're doing?" Makarov's voice sounded harsher than before. Erza stared directly at him "We're seeing this through Master. No one in the family is left behind"

Makarov shook his head. He knew there was nothing he could do about this now "Natsu…"

"I said don't want you here" Natsu's voice quickly became deeper as he was barely holding on. Gray cleaned the tears of his face with the back of his hand "Well tough luck flame brain, we ain't leaving your side"

"I don't need you here!" The room temperature rose again and the flames around him flickered dangerously; every time his voice became deeper and turned more into a growl.

"Why do you have to kill him? We… we can call the council; let them take him!" The sweet voice of a sobbing Lucy came from the back, still in the same place she was before and Natsu's heart broke again; he didn't dare to look at her "I… promised. He needs to know what real fear is before he dies… and he will"

Finally, a glimpse of fear was visible in Fukuro's eyes "That treacherous redheaded bitch… " Natsu couldn't help but grin "Oh I'll give you something to fear all right… "

The remaining mages were overwhelmed by the stunning dark aura that came from Natsu's body as he smashed Fukuro against the wall without releasing his hold on him "Are you ready to show your friends the real monster Salamander? There's no way back from that"

He had barely finished his sentence when Erza sword went through the wall right next to his face cutting his cheek a bit.

"Don't ever… call my friend a monster; I only see one monster in this room… and that's not him"

Gray, Laxus, Gajeel, Bickslow and Lucy stood behind Erza. Everyone had a strong fighting aura surrounding them, Fukuro felt a shiver going through his spine at the sight of such strong people after their revenge, his train of thought was quickly interrupted by Natsu.

"I asked you guys to leave…"

"And we told you, we ain't leaving" Gray crossed his arms above his chest; he was determined to seeing this through for the sake of his friends, and Juvia

"I don't want any of you or the guild involved, and that's final"

"Right… and what are you doing to do? Force us out?" Laxus stared at him defiantly; as soon as he looked at Natsu he frowned, he didn't look cornered by them, and that created a sense of uneasiness that he wasn't expecting.

"Guys… I'm really sorry"

That's the last thing they remembered. They woke up to their guild mates calling their names desperately and pulling them out of the fire that was quickly consuming the manor. None of them had any severe injuries aside from minor burns and bruises.

The rest of their guild mates took them outside, where they stayed at a safe distance from the fire. Erza was startled by Lucy screaming at Master Makarov.

"Where is he? We need to go get him!'

"Lucy we don't know where he is! He is gone…"

"No he is not! It was him at the end! I know it was. Tell me where he went!" she was desperately crying while clenching her fists "Please… we need to find him"

Erza looked at her friends. Everyone was grieving by themselves; Gray was sitting on the floor holding Juvia, and caressing her face, the same as Gajeel with Levy; Mira and Elfman were holding on to Lisanna by her hands trying to wake her up.

"What happened?"

Jet knelt next to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, but Erza shook it off.

"Jet… What happened?"

"We don't really know. After we went outside a huge fireball exploded, we thought you were all gone Erza, but… when we went inside you were just knocked out"

"And Natsu?"

"He was gone. Makarov asked me to search the grounds; I never thought he could outrun me…" Jet sounded disappointed on himself, he was biting on his lip and tightening his fists.

It was late, and they needed to figure out what to do before they went anywhere. They savaged as much as they could, but it seemed like it was going to be a long night.

No one was really talking to each other; everyone felt so powerless. It had been a few hours since the incident when they heard Gray.

"Juvia!"

They all ran thinking that the worse had finally happened, but they soon found the ice mage holding on to Juvia who had just opened her eyes.

"Gray-sama?..."

"What…how…" he was still holding her tightly."Gray-sama you are holding Juvia too tight"

"I-I'm sorry" he gave her some space. He started cleaning the tears from his eyes when her hand found his face.

"Why is Gray-Sama crying" Gray touched her cheek with his hand "I thought…I thought you were gone. I still had so much to tell you…"

Juvia smiled and cleaned the rest of the tears from his face "Gray-sama will have all the time to tell Juvia. Juvia will never leave Gray-sama's side"

He very soon realized everyone was observing the sudden display of emotion and blushed, trying to interrupt the attention, he brought up something everyone was meaning to ask.

"Ok so she is back. How are Lisanna and Levy?"

Erza shook her head "They are still the same"

"Why is Juvia back? I mean it doesn't make sense for her to be the only one"

Lucy walked their way with a sad expression "He's still fighting this battle for us. Whatever he is doing, he said it was the only way to maybe bring them back"

Gray looked to the sky "Damn it Natsu, where are you?"

Mira joined the conversation, she was still crying. "That still doesn't explain why Juvia is the only one back"

"Levy would know why…" Gajeel was resting on a tree still refusing to let go of Levy.

Lucy saw him defeated, as if everything good in the world had evaporated from his hands. She decided it was time to stop crying, her family still needed her.

"Look, I don't know why, but what I do know is that for the past three months we've put that man through hell and back, me mostly; and he's still taking care of us" a few people started nodding.

"I don't know why he did what he did, but I know him, and he is all about defending his family" She grabbed her chin and thought for a second "Whatever he did, he was sure it was the only way to get us out! Now it is our time to repay him. We need to find him and bring him home" the voices of agreement filled the place; Erza smiled at Lucy and nodded thanking her silently.

"We first need to take care of our injured people" Makarov's voice broke the short celebration "They are incapable of waking up, but they seem to be holding on. We need to take them to safety now. Tomorrow we will bring our boy back home, whatever it takes"

Cheering in the form of a Fairy Tail war scream erupted. The next day the search for their friend would start, they could only hope to be ready for what they found.


	13. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu has embraced his newfound darkness and the responsibility of helping his friends despite the possibility of losing himself forever. 
> 
> While he is gone, the guild has to face reality when bits and pieces of the story come out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains a lot of scene changes since we are back to skipping from one character to the other. Thanks to my Beta Nenley! Fair warning OCC/Dark shit going on starting now and it won't get smoother from here on.
> 
> -A-
> 
> "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity."
> 
> ― Edgar Allan Poe

*POV Fukuro Tatsuma*

My head was throbbing, and I felt like throwing up, I tried opening my eyes and even that was too painful at first… little by little I was able to do so, and when I did I saw the devil himself staring right at me with his playful grin on his face.

I tried to identify my surroundings but it was of no use, the place was semi dark and covered with rock, it seemed to be an old cave of some sort; the one thing I could tell was that my hands were tied above my head and my feet didn't touch the ground.

In the darkness surrounding the cave, there was only one light to focus on; the warm light came from the man standing before me, if he could even be called a man at this point. It was ironic, not long ago I was sure he would die at my command and now that I was before him, without my mark…and limited options..

Losing my mark would reduce my potential but not completely eliminate my natural given gifts; of course I would not be able to kill him, but I had not been able to do that before either, so that was not a big concern; I could still see his fears and although I couldn't materialize them, I would still use it to make him suffer, just as my parents had taught me.

The dragon slayer was sitting on a rock, elbows on his knees with his face resting nonchalantly on his hands, his smirk allowed his fangs to show in an obvious and sad attempt to intimidate me. He stared for a few more minutes before speaking, his voice was deep and harsh.

"Good morning"

"Salamander…"

"Oh, well I think our relationship has moved on from formalities, we should be on first name basis Fukuro"

"Where are we?"

"I think it's very obvious we are in a cave man" he poked his head with his index finger "I thought you were the smart one"

"Whatever your plan is… I can't bring them back even if I offer"

"Oh, but I know… you can't… but I can make you. You see a little bird told me a story, about you and your family which I intend to prove"

A shiver ran down my spine, but it wasn't that I was afraid of the pain he could cause, it was his grin… that face reminded me of my father; a soulless man with no fear, a man who had made a business out of the suffering of others. I couldn't help but laugh at his intent, after all, I've played this game before and I know exactly how it ends; if there was one thing I could thank my parents for, it would be that I am not an easy man to scare.

"I'm sure it's funny… for now Fukuro. But let's give it some time and see how it turns out"

"This is a dangerous game you are playing. I can still see you, you tried so hard to hide yourself, but you are still there, your fear may have changed, and you may have put your humanity away but I'm a patient man"

The demon laughed once more "Do you think seeing me will serve you? I don't need to hide my humanity to make you pay… you don't deserve any mercy!"

He walked with determination and stood so close I could feel the fire on his breath, I looked at his eyes, his pupils were dilated, I should have guessed the fumes from the garden wouldn't have killed him, not him… and now I had nothing to do but to pray whatever effect it had on him wouldn't push him over the edge.

He raised one of his fingers to show his black claw and he poked my chest with it; its tip was sharper than a sword and I couldn't help but flinch.

"There's nowhere to run now Fukuro… how does it feel to be held against your will?" he pressed harder, I could feel my blood trickle down my chest "Maybe we should ask Lucy how she felt? Being held in your house for months!" he pulled his claw down making a cut from my chest to my navel; although it was not deep enough to kill me, the pain that came with it was excruciating, and whatever little oxygen I could get was filled with the heat from his fire.

I was sure I would bleed out, but then he lit a second claw on fire "You ain't dying today" he traced the rim of wound to burn it close; I could smell my own flesh burning, the fumes went up my nose and made me nauseated before the pain knocked me out. I had a dream, or maybe a memory…

I was a child, I ran to my mother with the biggest smile I could "Mother! Look at what I made!" I felt proud of myself, and I wanted her to feel it too. She stared at me for a couple of seconds, not even bothering to see the object I held on my hands "Is this what you do with your precious time? You are meant for greatness not silly crafts"

"But I thought we could fly it later, the day is lovely" I looked at my yellow and orange kite, perfectly made, not one single wrinkle on it; its tail was long and filled with small bows that matched the golden details I had painted.

She must have noticed my disappointed because she smiled at me and for the first time in forever, she ruffled my hair "How about another time? Right now, it's time for your bath"

I walked to the room still holding hope on the day to come; I placed the kite on the table outside of my bathroom and entered still surprised that my mother was coming with me and not Alicia. I took my clothes off and entered the tub while my mother sat on the floor next to me.

She undid the sleeves of her dress and pulled them up "I know we seem harsh, but you know why that is, right?"

"Because… you want me to be great?"

"Greatness, my son, is not achieved by flying a silly kite… It's achieved by conquering your fears. A true owl knows no fear"

She took the shampoo bottle and poured it on my head, it felt nice to feel her warmth for a change; I didn't remember what her caresses felt like, I wished the moment could have lasted longer.

"Ok so now, take a deep breath, it's time to rinse" She smiled at me while she caressed my hair and cleared the bubbles from my forehead; I didn't mind not flying the kite anymore, this moment with my mother was more precious than anything else.

She placed her hand above my head "Ok, ready?" I nodded as she helped me go underwater and brushed my hair to remove the excess soap.

Once I felt it was ok, I pushed myself up but her hand was still on my head; I didn't understand why so I pushed harder and tapped her arm with my hand, but she didn't move. I kicked and pushed my arms, but she didn't let go until I finally stopped; my arms, legs and eyes felt heavy and I caved.

I woke up coughing water while Alicia held me on her arms while singing a lullaby and rubbing my back "You are ok my boy, take deep breaths, I won't ever leave your side"

* * *

"You took your time to come back, sounded like you had an interesting dream. What was it about?" he sat before me, his dark eyes piercing through me with his big grin, I hated everything he was… everything he meant in a way no one would ever know "This is not going to work; you are wasting your time"

"We are just starting. I'm all fired up now"

* * *

It didn't take long for the mages to regroup and take their injured friends to the nearest hospital, one of the best since the town had thrived even more than before under the new administration.

Makarov was beyond frustrated, despite his best attempts to explain their situation, it seemed his good luck and diplomacy would not work this time. He was talking to a tall brunette that had a stethoscope on her neck; she didn't seem happy with the current conversation and kept pushing her glasses up every couple of minutes while trying to hide her obvious eye roll.

"As I said, we just need them to stay here and for you to monitor them. We'll have people from the guild to care for them; this is not a complicated request"

"Master Makarov, I understand, but we need to follow protocol"

"Is it not your job to care for people in need? Well they are in need!"

"They can be admitted and tested; they'll be treated by our best doctors, that way we can find out what they have"

Makarov pinched the bridge of his nose "There's nothing you can do for them! This is not an illness"

"Sir, you say this is not an illness, so, then I must assume this is magic related, and if that's the case, you know that the council needs to be notified"

"The council doesn't need to be notified, they just need to be cared for while we take care of our business. Do you understand this is a request by the guild master?!"

"You have no power here. Either you let us treat them and help, or we notify the council… It is up to you"

"Fine…"

Makarov slammed the door behind him and walked to the waiting area that was now filled with all guild members; even the ones who were not at the manor had been notified and had decided to quickly make their way as soon as they heard the situation.

They all stood up once he arrived waiting for news. Erza was the first one to ask.

"What's the verdict?" The Master took a deep breath before facing front "They will follow standard protocol; since we refuse to admit this is magic related they'll test them and treat them"

"Master… it won't take them long to figure out this is not medical..." he shook his head and scrunched his nose "I Know…" Erza balled her hands and bit her lip "But once they do…"

"Once they do, the council will be informed. We don't have much time"

Lucy, worried about the implications of this, and couldn't stay silent; her mind was going a thousand miles per hour "What will happen if the council finds out?"

"Lucy… nothing good will happen if the council finds out, but how bad it will be depends on whether Fukuro is alive or dead" Lucy was speechless; Natsu killing someone out of vengeance was something she refused to believe

"He wouldn't do it… He wouldn't be capable of it" Just as she finished saying that Gajeel stood up angrily and pushed his way into the conversation.

"He said the only way to bring them back was to kill him! Are you seriously considering letting him live? After what he did!?"

"We understand Gajeel, but if we don't stop him..."

"You understand? You understand shit! She is there fighting for her life! If Natsu doesn't kill him, then I will!" He stormed out of the building with Lucy running after him; she was barely able to catch up.

"Gajeel wait!"

"You ain't changing my mind bunny girl; get the fuck out of my way!"

"I'm not trying to change your mind you idiot! Please… just listen"

Gajeel stopped but avoided her eyes; he knew this wasn't her fault, but he couldn't help to blame her anyways "I'll give you a minute… Speak…"

"Just… bring him home..." He scrunched his nose and looked away, he was angry, but the smell of salty tears was never something he enjoyed, specially not from one of his friends "We will find a way to keep the council off his back, please Gajeel"

"I can't promise anything"

"I know… just try? Take this with you; no one knows I took it, if anything happens with Levy, I'll let you know"

She handed him a communication lacrima which he put away quickly before nodding and moving on. He wasn't sure how he was going to find Natsu, but he knew if someone had a chance to, it was him; no one had his keen sense of smell nor had been running for as long as he did before finding a home.

* * *

Fukuro's POV

I lost of perception of time; within the dark cave I couldn't see the days pass by. Have I been here for hours? Days? I knew it had been quite some time… my mouth felt dry and my stomach was empty, that doesn't happen in a couple of hours. He refuses to let me die and cares for me only enough to keep me on the edge which considering… may be much worse than simply dying.

Every cut was burnt closed, the bones set back as well as he could, but not all at the same time, he would stop if I lost consciousness and took care of the rest after I woke up. Maybe he enjoys it, or maybe Merryl really did betray me at last.

He seemed exhausted, dark circles on his eyes, and shaky hands; no matter how strong he is, it was impossible for him not suffer any effects from the lack of sleep and the garden fumes. Finally, I saw an opportunity when he laid far from me on the floor; the demon may be invincible, but the human definitely needed to get some rest.

I'm aware I won't make it out of here by myself, even if my hands were not immobilized; I'm sure my leg is broken, it certainly hurts as it if was, I can barely feel my arms anymore… I've been hanging from them for too long, and this is without the pain that I have become so familiar with.

My opportunity came in the form of his dream. I don't need to control him anymore, just to find him inside his head, the biggest power you can have on people will always be their greatest fears and deepest desires.

"I'm Back!"

"Why did you come back Natsu?" Gray using his actual name was odd enough, but the way it rolled out of his tongue was as painful as a stab.

"What do you mean why? I live here Ice-Princess"

"You were banned from here! Get it in your head!"

"Wh… you are crazy!" he looked at his shoulder to see his guild mark gone. He looked up and Gray wasn't there anymore. Erza was now standing in front of him.

"How could you? Did you really think we would be happy to take you back?"

"Erza… but I… I did what I had to! You need to understand" He blinked twice and now saw Master Makarov; the look he gave him sent chills down his spine.

"Gramps…"

"I should have left you where I found you. I never thought you would bring such shame to the guild" Makarov turned his back to him, and the guild darkened.

Natsu tried to run after him but wasn't able to catch up. He saw Lucy crying in a corner and ran to her; he tried to hold her hand and was rejected immediately.

"Just leave! When did you become such a monster!? Because of you they're gone!"

* * *

Fukuro's POV

The demon woke up trying to catch his breath, he held his right hand above his chest as if trying to reach for something invisible; the faint light from the fire showed me how exhausted he looked soaked in sweat from the nightmare. I should have known better than to taunt him but I couldn't help ù he would break his neck and in a second the demon burst into flames and charged towards me; his face was inches away from mine… he placed his hands on the sides of my body touching only the stone behind me.

I could feel the stone behind my back heating, its bright orange glow only making my painful expression more visible to him as his hands made it hotter every time. I did the only thing I could and screamed in pain.

From all the wretched smells in the world, there's nothing as horrid as the one accompanied by awareness… the knowledge that it is your own skin melting, your fatty tissue bubbling while its fumes fill your lungs. I found some strength buried deep within and tried to pull away, but he pushed one of his hands against my chest making it impossible… I could feel my skin sticking to the stone.

I don't remember much after that; I passed out again from the pain.

* * *

*Lacrima rings*

"Master Makarov…"

"Yes, what can I do for you today?"

"It has been brought to the council's attention that a couple of your guild members suffered from a dark magic curse, do you deny it?"

"Well I haven't been made aware of the hospital's findings yet, council member…" Makarov knew an indirect answer was his best shot and was ready to be as ambiguous as he could.

"Fortunately, we have. You admitted them in the hospital a day after we received a report of an attack in the Tastuma Manor, is this a coincidence?"

"I believe there are no coincidences. You should do thorough research to collect as much information as you need to draw your conclusions"

"Fine, have it your way. Fairy Tail has been summoned for questioning first thing tomorrow morning"

"And we will be happy to oblige, however, as you know we are still in the hospital waiting for news, and to mobilize an entire guild will be more than a bit complicated; we still have people on mission and…"

"Oh, that won't be a problem" Makarov could hear the slight change on the voice, he was sure the man was smiling on the other end of the lacrima "We mobilized our inquisitors hours ago; they should be there before midnight and ready to proceed with the questioning in the morning. The hospital has provided us with a room to dispose of"

Makarov clenched his teeth. There was nothing more to do.

* * *

Fukuro's POV

I wasn't sure I was awake… or alive really; I felt as if all my nerves were exposed but for some bizarre reason the pain was tolerable. I managed to open my eyes a bit and saw him pacing in the cave. He looked off and kept talking to himself.

"I can't sleep; if I sleep, he'll see me. So, it's ok, I'll stay awake… I can do this" he turned and paced the other way and rubbed his face "No, no, no, you can't stay awake that long idiot, you'll lose it!" he turned again and waved his hands "I have to, there's no other way. Someone needs to take him out"

"We need to rush this; yeah… we just need to rush this and it'll be ok" His pacing stopped and he started walking towards me before grabbing my shoulders to make sure I was awake "Are we feeling better today?"

"Man, you look awful, you should probably sleep some… don't you think?"

"HA! You'd like that. I don't need to sleep, also have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? You look much older now, is the lack of light affecting you?"

I knew what he meant, my power was being drained out and there was no doubt in my mind now of what he wanted to accomplish; Merryl had sold me out and there was nothing I could do about it, she had given my worst enemy the key to explode my weakness.

I did not care to answer, my back was still sticking to the rock wall behind me; he kept holding my shoulders and looking at me with that grin… that awful grin; I felt like a mouse being played with by a cat, in the end he would devour me.

If I felt like my nerves were exposed before, I had been wrong… He suddenly pulled me from the stone ripping the skin of my back, letting the oxygen hit the burn and causing a new wave of pain to invade my senses. I was in agony… I cried and yelled so hard he had to cover his ears to save his eardrums from the high-pitched sound.

And just like that, I was gone again. A second dream which I wish I never had popped into my head.

I pushed the doors opened and ran in the big aisle from the top floor, I kept running until I reached my parent's room and opened their door carefully; I was scared of waking them up too… but in that moment I had to choose the thing I feared the most and at the moment, the thunderstorm was winning.

I was crying my eyes out, the loud noises were echoing on the walls and hurting my ears, so I stood next to my father and as if he knew I was there… he opened her eyes immediately and stared, notoriously confused by my presence; I should have known… there was no surprising my father.

"Can I please stay here; it will only be for tonight, I promise!" He sat on his bed and opened his arms, I felt so happy… I reached out to him and he held me tight and sat me down next to him.

"This is a silly storm son; you can't allow yourself to be scared"

"But I am! I want to stay here, please!"

"You need to conquer your fears my boy" He opened his shirt and showed me his own mark "This is more than just a symbol, this is our strength, our legacy"

"Papa… please" My father's face hardened; he shook his head and grabbed my arm, he pulled me so harshly from the bed I almost landed on my face.

"It will serve you right to learn to deal with fear. I think you need to think about it for a while" He opened the dark mahogany trunk at the foot of his bed; he picked me up and laid me inside without flinching.

"I'm sorry! I won't cry anymore!"

"Words are just that my boy. If you want to survive then you'll need to be strong, a true owl knows no fear… don't ever forget that"

"Don't close it! Father not the trunk please!"

I pushed it with all my strength; it was useless… he had closed and locked the trunk. I kept crying until I heard the voices outside… My mother had woken up, she was upset; I thought maybe, just maybe she would ask him to take me out, and she did… my noises were not letting her sleep, so she asked my father to take me and the trunk out of the room.

He dragged me to the door, mumbling and complaining of doing such things with his own hands. My crying continued for hours; I'm not sure what time it was when they allowed Alicia to unlock it. I wasn't crying anymore... nor would I ever cry again.

* * *

*Lacrima rings*

"Gajeel?"

"Is she ok?"

"She is the same, I'm sorry. I'm not calling about Levy, Lisanna is awake"

"When?"

"She woke up about an hour ago; there were a lot of people here, so I couldn't call you"

"So that means Levy is the only one…"

"Yeah, that also means Natsu is close to completing whatever he is going to do. Gajeel you need to find him…"

"I told ya… I ain't stopping him"

"I know, but you promised you'd try to bring him home…have you gotten any leads?"

"It's only been a couple of days; I'm just a few towns away and I've taken simple jobs just to try and find some information… nothing has paid off so far. I heard about a fire mage, but it turned out to be another smug"

"I see. Gajeel...The council was notified; the guild has been called for questioning. You need to hurry"

"Then lie… you've gotten pretty good at that"

"Look smartass, they'll be using runes for questioning, it's not that simple. And yeah, I lied! I thought I was keeping you all safe"

"And tell me, how did that work out for you?"

"Gajeel… I'm…"

"I know… just… call when it's over, or if you have news on Levy, otherwise don't bother"

* * *

*Back to Natsu and Fukuro*

I opened my eyes to find him staring at me again, this guy was seriously creeping me out "Hell… I thought I had father issues. I guess what they say is true… near the end you start thinking on how you got here"

"What are you talking about?"

"You kind of talked in your sleep... a bit; not enough, but we'll get there"

"Do you really think tearing my bones and burning my skin will break me? It's eating you inside lizard"

"That may be true… but I'm not under the impression there's any salvation left for me, and I rather for it to eat me than to let you take the people I love. So, are we ready to continue?"


	14. Pressure Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The inquisitor arrived to get as much information as possible and is ready to take Fairy Tail out piece by piece. No one knows how much or how little to tell since they haven't found Natsu yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Nenley my Beta!
> 
> "Time takes it all whether you want it to or not, time takes it all. Time bares it away, and in the end there is only darkness. Sometimes we find others in that darkness, and sometimes we lose them there again."  
> ― Stephen King

 

 

 

Time was up, Makarov needed to think fast in order to switch the tables on the council; it was obvious that during the questioning they would use runes to be able to recognize the truth, and this disturbed him deeply.

While he could give half-truths to the council with ambiguous responses, he was sure not all of his children had enough life experience to have acquired this powerful tool, and even if they did, the inquisitors would pick on their scabs to get answers.

The door opened letting the sunlight in and exposing the inquisitor. She was tall, purple hair and had big brown eyes under a small pair of red glasses. She walked in with a smug face, and a steady pace. She stopped in front of Makarov and pushed her glasses up with her index finger.

"Master Makarov, you are hereby commanded by the authority of the council to present the requested guild members for questioning"

Makarov rolled his eyes at the formality of it but felt compelled to respond. The council sure had a flair for drama, which annoyed him terribly.

"I, Makarov, Fairy Tail guild Master, recognize the authority of the council. As I mentioned to them previously, some members may not be available for questioning. If I could get a list..."

She interrupted Makarov harshly "We shall proceed by questioning those here and anyone that arrives within the time frame in which my presence is required. I need some time to prepare the room and will call each shortly"

Makarov frowned at her angrily, showing a twitch on his right eye "One would think you would be educated enough to show some respect to a guild master, or at least to introduce yourself"

The corner of her lip rose a bit as she exaggeratedly bowed with fake respect "Shanna, official council inquisitor, at your service. Master Makarov, is there anything else you would like to know?"

Makarov shook his head and signaled her to move on. The inquisitor walked to the nurse station, looking for the doctor who made the report. They both disappeared into the aisle as the Doctor led her to the space assigned to her.

Twenty minutes passed while the fairy tail members nervously looked at each other. Different groups were discussing about possible questions and outcomes. A shadow appeared on the aisle interrupting their conversations.

"I call Gray Fullbuster"

Gray stood up and walked behind the woman; he kept his hands in his pockets and looked at the floor. He kept thinking on how much he could fuck this up for his friend; saying too much or too little could make everything worse. -Fuck… I had to be the first one-

"Please sit Mr. Fullbuster"

He sat in a nonchalant way, almost laying on the chair, it was obvious he was trying very much to look calm and relaxed. He rested his arms on the chair and looked at the inquisitor who was observing his every move.

"I will ask two questions for control first, please answer the first one with the truth, and the second one with a lie"

"Shoot…"

"Is your name Gray Fullbuster?"

"Yes"

"Who trained you as a mage?"

"Mh... Master Makarov?"

A rune wall suddenly surrounded him flashing in shiny red, he knew they were there, but it startled him anyways. His confidence level descended a bit as he realized that the task before him wouldn't be an easy one.

"Which is your dominant power, and please elaborate"

"Ice Make… I can create things with ice magic and attack with it, and freeze stuff… "

"Do you have any experience with fire magic?"

"Not personal experience, I've seen it, but I don't use it"

"Do you have information on what happened to the two guild members who were admitted in this hospital?"

"I don't know exactly how it happened or how to fix it" He looked at the runes to make sure they stayed the same. Technically, he wasn't lying, he had no idea how that power worked.

"Were you aware this "illness" wasn't medical but magic related"

"Mh… Yes"

"Why wasn't this reported immediately?"

"We thought we could fix it ourselves without the involvement of the council"

"Did this happen during the event held in the Tatsuma manor on December 31st?

"Yes"

"What was this event for?"

Gray tried not to react to the question, but his body language was difficult to control; he clenched his jaw and sat up before responding.

"We were there for a wedding"

"A wedding between Lucy Heartfilia and Fukuro Tatsuma?"

"Yes" He was trying not to alert the inquisitor. A thin line of sweat made an appearance on his forehead.

"What stopped the wedding from happening?"

"We… there was a fight"

Shanna tilted her head; she knew there was something else to that answer "This fight, who participated on it?"

"Everyone did, I mean when it all happened we just tried to protect each other"

"I'm going to need more details"

"Then I guess you need to ask the correct question, don't you?" His temper was getting the best of him; he was annoyed by the way the inquisitor was fishing for information. His anxiety was obvious as he switched his position and laid his elbows on his knees.

The inquisitor gave him a challenging stare; she straightened her back and grinned at him "Do you know who started the attack on the manor?"

"That depends on how you see it; I don't have an easy answer for that"

"Mr. Fullbuster, your cooperation has been demanded by the council"

Gray was usually bothered by a handful of things but being ordered what to do was in his top five. Not only that but he couldn't stop thinking this woman was there to get only what she wanted to hear, not the full story.

"What do you want me to say? Do you want me to tell you who threw the first punch or who was responsible for everything that happened before and after?"

"I don't think you understand the severity of the situation. One of society's highest members is missing, his house burned to the grounds. I want to know who attacked the house, there's no amount of background story that would justify what happened"

For Gray, that was the last straw. "Well then I guess there's no reason to continue with this. I'm here to tell the truth, and I don't think you are searching for it"

"Are you refusing to continue with the questioning?"

"I guess I am"

The runes appeared again but they now looked black. Gray stood up and tried to leave but just managed to crash against the almost invisible wall surrounding him "What the hell is this? Let me out!"

"Don't underestimate the council… The runes won't deactivate until you put these on. Gray Fullbuster you will remain in custody until the council decides to release you"

"On what grounds?!"

"Oh I'll think of something, accessory to kidnap Fukuro Tatsuma, or maybe facilitator to the perpetrator. We'll see how you come out after the investigation" Shanna gave him a cocky smirk before handing him the cuffs.

There was nothing he could do. Magic blocking cuffs were used to stop him from using his ability, and he was starting to wonder what the right thing to do was. He was escorted to a separate room and then she went to get her next target.

Makarov stood in front of her before the end of the aisle; he noticed she was alone, and this alarmed him even more.

"Where is he?"

"Not that I need to respond to you, but he will remain in custody until I discover if he had something to do with the disappearance of Mr. Tatsuma"

"He had nothing to do with it! None of them did! How come you are treating the victims as if they were responsible for this?"

"Master I see many things here, victims not being one of those things. Throughout the years, your guild has given more problems to the council than every single guild combined...multiplied by a hundred. Do you really expect me to believe that the so called strongest guild is full of helpless victims?"

Makarov clenched his jaw, he was getting the impression that the council would rather retaliate than to do their job. If the council decided to make an example out of them, the results could be catastrophic.

"We ARE the strongest guild; we've been of great service to this realm and the council. My children have saved them all a thousand times without fear of risking their lives and you are treating them as criminals?"

She smiled at him and pressed her hand against her chest "They have, and we appreciate it; but that doesn't mean they get a free pass… Master". She walked passed him while he stood still. He didn't remember the last time he felt this powerless or useless.

"I call Gajeel Redfox"

"He is out on a mission"

"I see, and who are you if I may ask"

"Laxus Dreyar"

"Dreyar? So you are…"

"The master's grandson"

She laid her right hand on her hip, tilted her body weight, and tapped her mouth with her finger "I was gonna say the one who got kicked out of the guild, but well…"

Laxus' eye twitched as he crossed his arms over his chest. Makarov covered his face with his hand thinking this was going to go wrong in every possible way -I should have sent them all on mission before Shanna got here-

"Well Mr. Dreyar, if you could follow me"

They disappeared into the aisle as Makarov rallied the rest of the guild members. It would be a risk to send them out now, but he couldn't let them take anyone else. He rather the council to come at him than to watch them destroy everything he built.

"Listen carefully, they've taken Gray, and I'm afraid he won't be the last. You can't leave at the same time; Cana and Erza, you'll go now. Mira and Elfman, Lisanna is fine, we'll look after her, once she returns to get the next one, you'll leave"

"Absolutely not!" Mira refused right away, the thought of leaving her sister unprotected was something she couldn't consider. She had lost her once before, and it had been too close to happen again.

"You have to. You will all go and look for Natsu while we stall. If you don't go, we risk losing the most powerful mages to the council"

"But Master!"

Erza held her arm and pulled her into a hug "Lisanna will be fine Mira, Natsu may not be…"

Mira hugged her back and nodded while a few tiers slid through her cheeks; she was still not comfortable with leaving but she understood that this was important.

"What about me? I need to go find him too!"

Makarov shook his head "Lucy dear… out of all people I think that you are the one that can't leave"

"I can help, I'm strong too" she started crying again -way to prove your strength Lucy- she couldn't but to blame herself for everything that was happening.

"We know, but I have a feeling she will notice if you leave; it was your wedding after all"

Lucy bit her lip and tried to push her tears down. If she couldn't help finding him, then she would have to put on a big show and stall the best she could. It will come to gaining as much time as possible.

"Excuse me…I need some fresh air" She went outside and hid the best she could. She needed to call Gajeel and explain what was happening; after all, if they questioned her, and she failed she would also be held and wouldn't have another chance.

*Lacrima Rings*

Gajeel was startled by the sound, every time that damn thing rang his heart skipped a bit thinking Levy was gone - Damn piece of shit…- he mumbled to himself while clumsily getting the lacrima out of his pocket.

"I hope this is important…"

"Shut up and listen carefully. It started, and we are not doing well, they took Gray in custody thinking he had something to do with what happened"

"Well, he is probably better off"

"Why would you say that you jerk!?"

"If he had told the truth, he would probably be on his way to jail already, same as if he had lied. You are very naive you know?"

"Excuse me!?"

"I'll explain in a way even YOU can understand bunny girl" The spite in his voice slapped Lucy in the face even through the lacrima "we had a backup plan, if there was no other way we were going to kill your fiancé. I'm sure more people would have gotten hurt, so, it kind of worked out for the best"

Lucy was fuming from anger, she felt fire in the pit of her stomach; she took a deep breath and was about to snap at Gajeel when she felt someone behind her; she turned quickly to discover Master Makarov standing there. He held one hand up signaling the lacrima.

"Hand it over"

"Master I was just…"

"I know what you were doing, did you really think I wouldn't notice? Hand it over"

Lucy stared at her feet with a defeated look and handed the lacrima over. -I can't even do this right, can I - She felt like a complete failure, despite all of her attempts to fix everything, there was no undoing what had been done.

"Gajeel, where are you?"

"Far enough not to be questioned if that's your concern"

"I need to know which places you've been to; we are sending people to look for him too and we can't waste time we don't have"

"Fine… I've been to the villages outside Oak Town, and I'm heading to the Phoenix Mountains now"

"How did you cover so much in so little time?"

"Mhm… I have my ways, I… also took the train" just remembering the ride was enough to make him feel dizzy. He covered his mouth while trying to catch his breath.

Lucy felt bad, Gajeel was being a total dick to her, but he was really trying to find Natsu; he was trying so hard he even got on a train. She knew Gajeel had the same issue Natsu did with motion sickness and couldn't help but to feel bad for him.

"Gajeel we may not be able to communicate for some time. We'll try to stall but I need you back in 5 days"

"Come on! It'll take at least two days to get back!"

"Five days Gajeel. If you don't find him we'll need all the power we can to hold everything together"

* * *

Back in the interrogation room Shanna was trying her best to get into Laxus' skin; he was sitting, his legs crossed, and arms over his chest. He had the smuggest look she had ever seen. She couldn't decide if she was more annoyed or intrigued by the man sitting across from her.

"Shanna was it? What exactly are you trying to figure out? I highly doubt the council sent such a skillful inquisitor just to push our buttons" the fake tone in which he praised her was setting her nerves up. -Who does he think he is?-

"I thought I was asking the questions Mr. Dreyar. I'm here to discover the truth"

"Funny, doesn't seem to be the truth you are after"

"Well the truth is relative. I want to know who burned down the Tatsuma manor"

"Mhm it seems obvious it was a fire mage, doesn't it"

"Yes indeed. You wouldn't happen to have one of those, would you?" she had a smirk on her face; she knew the answer to that question, but she enjoyed the challenge of breaking someone and Laxus seemed like a tough nut to crack.

"We certainly do, but you already know that. Natsu Dragneel is our resident fire starter; he's quite a problematic dragon slayer" he smirked back at her and licked his upper lip.

"I haven't met him in person, but I've heard a lot about him from the council. Didn't see him here, do you know where he is?"

"I guess he is out on a mission, he is always on a mission"

"What type of mission?"

"Who knows, he is always here and there, he does twice as much because he spends most of it paying the damages he and his team cause"

Shanna knew Laxus was playing smart; his responses were ambiguous but solid. He wasn't going down easily and that stirred something inside, she needed to take him down no matter what.

"Which is his usual team?"

"Well the damage is usually his, but he takes blondie and his flying cat everywhere"

"Did you participate in the fight that erupted in the manor?"

"Of course I did, who do you take me for? I never run away from a good brawl"

"Who started the fight Mr. Dreyar?"

Laxus smiled and stared at her, he wasn't going to lie despite the fact he knew she wasn't after their truth. "Well if you ask me, I'd say our host did"

Shanna's smirk disappeared quickly and changed into a frown "Look, the man was kidnapped, his house burned down, do you really think I'm going to believe he did this himself?"

"Look at your runes woman, I ain't lying. You asked about the fight, I'm telling you this fight didn't start at the manor. If you play with fire… you're bound to get burned eventually; don't you think?"

"Those are serious accusations on an outstanding member of society Mr. Dreyar; do you have anything to back them up?"

"I don't need to back them up, it's the council's job to investigate and mine to answer your questions. I'm just telling you where to look for to make your job easier"

"Fine, I'll bite… When did this fight start?"

"I don't think any of us knows that, maybe you should spend less time questioning us and more time finding your guy, don't you think?"

"Oh I'll find my guy"

They continued with the questioning, Shanna was getting frustrated. She kept trying to trick him, but he outsmarted her with every single response. They were there for over an hour and Laxus was still far from giving her what she wanted. He started tapping his fingers on the table, annoyed by the waste of time.

"We can call it a day. I may have to call you later on"

"You can call me whenever you want" a final smirk and a wink is all he gave her.

She smiled at him and walked him out the door; once it closed, she had to stop herself from screaming, she slammed her fists on the table and closed her eyes trying to keep herself together.

* * *

Back at the cave Natsu was growing impatient, he knew he was against the clock, but he was running out of options. He'd been close to killing him a couple of times and had to restrain himself. He sat and rubbed his hands together trying to think of different things to try, he wasn't even sure if anything he had done actually worked but he was willing to try everything.

His face was full of dirt, and his clothes were a bit ripped; he was sleep deprived, hungry and he strongly believe he was going crazy. He wasn't stupid, he knew he had been talking to himself a lot and was aware he had lost control several times.

Natsu walked not in a beeline but zigzagging until he stood in front of Fukuro, he slapped him across the face to make sure he was awake; he seemed to be dozing off more often now.

"Man you look like shit! I'll say you look a few decades older than before, strongly recommend going back to your regular beauty routine"

"Did you know owls feed off salamanders too?" Fukuro tried to laugh but his body ached too much.

Natsu looked down; he couldn't avoid him from getting under his skin. In a moment of weakness, he slapped the other side of his face with such strength that a few teeth flew out of Fukuro's mouth.

He grabbed a thick piece of rope that had been left aside from when he tied Fukuro up, and softly slid it behind his head, and just as carefully, he gave it an extra turn around his neck. He grabbed both ends of the rope gently and pushed his foot up to Fukuro's chest getting the air out his lungs. Fukuro looked at him as he pushed his foot and pulled the ropes simultaneously.

Fukuro's body shook violently trying to remove himself from Natsu's grip, but it was useless. Both his hands and feet were tied and there was no way he was going to be able to remove Natsu's foot from his chest nor the rope from his neck which was leaving a trail of purple and red marks from the friction burns; and the ruptured blood vessels.

He was gasping for air while his eyes got filled with little red spider lines. For a second, he looked directly at Natsu's eyes asking for mercy when he noticed him smiling. Natsu looked up from his neck to his face; his smile was immediately erased as he removed his hands from the rope.

Of course Fukuro had fainted. Natsu looked at his shaky hands for a few seconds -was I actually enjoying this?- He couldn't trust himself anymore; he wished for this to be over soon, for it to be a dream. He closed his eyes hoping that when he opened them, he would be back home.

They both drifted away individually as memories filled their minds.

* * *

Fukuro's dream

I was sitting in the front garden when I saw her; she seemed to be around ten years old, just like me. She was wearing a baby blue dress with white gloves and a lace hem; her beautiful blond hair reflected the sun, she was perfect.

She walked towards me and sat on the grass smiling; a smile like you've never seen before.

"You are going to get your dress dirty…"

"I don't care. Do you want to play?"

I looked at the house wondering if we would get in trouble, she must have sensed my nervousness because she grabbed my hand and her smile got bigger.

"Don't worry about them; my parents are here discussing business, and knowing my father, this could take HOURS!"

I couldn't help but laugh at the way she rolled her eyes while making her statement; it must have bothered her because she stood up and put both hands on her hips giving me a terrifying stare.

"Hey! Are you making fun of me?"

"No! I swear I wasn't!

She softened her look and smiled again before offering her hand to help me stand up "So are we going to play or what?"

That had been the best day of my entire life. We played for hours; we ran and hid from each other, we stole ice cream from the kitchen, we even walked as far as the lake and took our shoes off to dip our feet in it. She was like a ray of light that I didn't know was missing from my life.

It was late, and her parents were leaving; she kissed my cheek and ran away waving goodbye. I walked to the house with a big smile, still rubbing my face where she had kissed me when I ran into my parents.

"Where were you?"

"I was playing outside with Lucy; we thought it would be ok since you were busy"

"That's fine dear. So, what do you think of her?"

"She is fun! We went to the lake, and…" my mother waved her hand disregarding my comments, she rolled her eyes at my excitement while grabbing her wine glass from the table.

"Well they'll be spending more time here soon; I hope you can keep her entertained"

"I will! Thank you, mother!"

"Don't thank me yet. Listen, one day when you understand your family legacy, we'll make an offer to her parents for her to become your wife"

"My w… but we just met"

"Wouldn't you like to have a pretty wife like her? Didn't you just say she was fun?"

"Of course I would mother"

She grabbed my wrist and squeezed it making me squeal a bit "Then you need to conquer all your fears, you hear? She is a fair price and many suitors will offer to marry her; if you want to keep her in your life, you will have to be the strongest and the bravest of them all. It would be hard to find any other girl with her… qualities"

She released her grip making me take a step back; I looked at her without understanding the weight of her words. I was happy despite of the bitter taste that this conversation had left; just thinking about keeping that ray of light in my life forever was enough for now. I rubbed my wrist to make the sensation go away and counted the days for us to meet again.

* * *

Natsu's dream

I dreamed of my conversation with Merryl, her words still haunted me even when I was asleep.

"What happens after that?"

"Well, you know how you just said you trust them with your life? There's no way back love, they are going to have to stop you"

"You are mental; I would never go against them"

"Neither will get a choice Natsu…" She would always use nicknames to annoy me, but the way she said my name this time made me pay attention. She sounded sad and honest. If there was a way for me to save them… to save her, I was willing to do it.

"I'm listening…"

"I told you my family has worked there since forever; you can't help but hear things you know? I shared more than his home; I shared his life, his bed, and his dreams!"

"What do I care if you are mad at your former lover?"

"Ugh stop being so hard headed and listen! I don't know this for a fact, so it's still a long shot. I think the only way to defeat him is by making him be afraid"

"Oh, that's no problem; I'll give him something to fear…"

She rolled her eyes at me in annoyance "Boys… His parents raised him for this, you know? He was so scared of them when we were little, they would do the most horrible things to make sure he would be prepared to face everything"

"Ok, so you are saying roughing him up won't work?"

"I don't think it will. Look, his parents died as soon as he was of age. I overheard one of their conversations; his father kept saying he wasn't ready to receive the mark, and he said they wouldn't be able to control him once he did. His wife accused him of being scared, and his pride got the best of him, so he agreed to go through with it"

I was even more confused than before, my head wasn't in the right place to make all the connections, but I signaled her to continue. I needed her to continue...

"They died at home, the doctors couldn't explain, but money fixes everything; they ruled it as a weird virus and made sure the bodies turned to ashes. I asked him what had happened, and he just smiled and said that their fears caught up with them"

"So, you think he scared them to death?"

"It's more than that; I saw their bodies before they were taken out of the manor. They died in their late forties but when I saw them, they looked over a hundred. They looked as if the life had drained out of them"

"Maybe he just killed them; you are jumping to conclusions and sending me to be your guinea pig"

"No, there was only one wound in them, and I'm positive that wouldn't have killed them"

"What type of wound?"

"A chunk of skin had been removed, not a big one maybe just about four inches. I think that was the place where they held their mark"

"So, I'll remove his mark and it will all be over. Simple enough, where is it?"

"Below his right shoulder, but I don't think it would be that simple. You can remove it and see what happens, but if it doesn't work…"

"If it doesn't work I'll have to go all the way… which I won't be able to do unless I take my friends out"

"Yeah, you are aware of what happens with wizards that go rogue, correct? You won't be able to go home. Natsu… you'll be an easy target for him unless you kill or hide your humanity… you don't know if you'll have the strength to pull yourself back"

"What do you suggest?"

"Practice makes perfect… I'm equally responsible for this, so, start with me"

He woke up realizing he had done this the wrong way; he couldn't make him fear him by just physically hurting him. Natsu realized that Fukuro had made him the most scared he had ever been in his life without even touching him and that's when it hit him; emotional pain was so much harder than physical pain.


	15. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guild puts a plan in motion to try and get as much time for their friends. Gajeel follows his gut to an impressive discovery that will lead everyone deeper into the rabbit hole. The choices everyone made individually affect the complete group in ways that cannot be foreseen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! again thanks to my Beta Nenley for her continuous work! Also update: feeling much better.
> 
> "You grew up, became a man, had to adjust to taking less than you hoped for; you discovered the dream-machine had a big OUT OF ORDER sign on it."  
> ― Stephen King, Dreamcatcher

 

Makarov turned to face Lucy with a disappointing look; she looked down expecting to be yelled at, but when that didn't happen, she looked up again to meet the master's eyes.

 

"This is exactly what your problem is. You keep trying to fix everything yourself, and we don't work like that Lucy"

 

"I was just trying to…"

 

"You were trying to do what? Prove your strength, and your courage? We all know you! We've never doubted you, ever! But when you make this rash decisions to run off and take care of things by yourself you hurt your family"

 

Her eyes widen; she was mad at those remarks, but she didn't have a smart response. She felt a knot in the pit of her stomach again, her temperature increased; she balled her fists and straighten her arms.

 

"I can't have you fixing everything for me! I can't continue to be saved by him every single time. I'm a capable mage and I wanted to prove my place in this guild. You guys would never understand how it is to be pushed your entire life and then come to a place where everyone is so complete!"

 

Makarov couldn't help but to laugh, which seemed to annoy her even more as she puffed her cheeks like a child being mocked.

 

"Complete? Dear you have everything wrong… I raised a son who became the master of a dark guild, I raised a grandson who tried to take over a guild, before learning his place; you are surrounded by people that have been saved over and over by their friends, haven't you noticed? Sure… Natsu saves you often, but how many times has he been saved by me, you, or his friends?"

 

She wasn't clenching her fists anymore, her face relaxed as her mouth opened a bit in surprise. He was right; everyone had a story and she allowed herself to remember all those conversations. The Strauss brothers were shunned before, Gajeel and Juvia were part of a dark guild, Erza suffered too much in her early years, the Raijinshuu had committed treason while following Laxus; these were people that wouldn't have been accepted anywhere else, and they were a family now.

 

"I'm sorry Master… I didn't notice…"

 

"It's ok, just don't let yourself forget. We have little time Lucy, let's go back inside"

 

They walked to the front door; the remaining members were outside of the hospital and waved at them. Makarov was happy to see his grandson standing there too.

 

"Hey Gramps"

 

"I'm glad to see you here"

 

"Yeah, I'm not as stupid as brain freeze. You had nothing to worry about" He gave his grandfather a confident smile as Makarov shook his head with a grin on his mouth. Lucy interrupted the moment by grabbing Laxus' arm and pulling him closer which made him trip a bit.

 

"Watch it!"

 

She got him close enough to whisper, which for some reason made him a bit uncomfortable "So, what happened?" at that point the rest of the guys were closing on them with ears twice their normal size to hear whatever they had to say.

 

"This is not the place. Why don't we go and have some food, and we can all talk there"

 

A symphony of stomach growls took over; they'd been so nervous that no one had remembered to eat. They walked a bit in silence until they found a good enough restaurant; Laxus was the first one in. He rested his elbow at the hostess station while they all observed her blushing face nodding nervously.

 

Lucy was very curious about the interaction; the girl was giggling nervously whenever he talked and touching his arm smoothly when she responded.

 

"What in Mavis name is he doing?"

 

She felt a shiver down her spine when Bickslow snuck up on her from behind getting close to her ear.

 

"He is probably convincing her to…"

 

"Shut up jerk!"

 

"To give us a nice table Lucy… Damn, you  _ do  _ have a dirty mind after all" He finished his sentence by sticking his tongue out of his mouth.

 

"Well you guys are so perverted that half of the time I don't care to know" she giggled and notice Bickslow smiling too. Laxus came outside again and signaled them to follow him; they walked up to the second floor which was almost empty with the exception of the cute hostess standing there with some menus"

 

"Welcome! Please sit. Here are your menus; I'll send someone shortly to take your orders"

Lucy looked a bit puzzled "Why is there no people here?"

 

The girl smiled "We keep the second floor for events". She turned to Laxus with a flirty smirk "But your friend said you guys liked to be loud and were too big to be seated downstairs" She left flipping her long brown hair and turned her face just enough to take a quick look at Laxus "I'll be back soon".

 

Lucy turned to Laxus covering her face with her hand "Were you seriously flirting with her? This is not the moment to…"

 

"Relax a bit woman; I got us some privacy to talk, didn't I?"

 

She sighed and waved her hand trying to disregard him while everyone started putting tables together; she grabbed a chair and sat next to him to continue their conversation. The hostess came back with empty beer jars and laid them on the table.

 

"The bar is over there; since you've already paid for the space you are free to use the beer tab behind the bar. Are you ready to order?"

 

They ordered almost everything in the menu and asked not to be bothered unless they called. Once the food came in, they started discussing the events of the day.

 

"Ok I'll tell you now; she is not interested on anything else aside from the kidnap and arson, and she is very determined"

 

Makarov cleared his throat; his cheeks were a bit red already from the beer "So how did you manage to leave?"

 

"That was simple gramps, I answered her questions"

 

"And?" Lucy couldn't believe that it was that simple, after all Gray had been taken after only 15 minutes of questioning

 

"And nothing. I could tell she was frustrated, I even think I heard her snap once I left the room, but I think she is suspicious about Natsu. She asked about the fire, and if we had a fire mage; she even asked who his usual team was. We need to stall"

 

They all nodded and started to make suggestions but none was that good. They knew they couldn't lie, and the truth although a better option was something they didn't have, at this point they had their side of the story but wouldn't know everything until they found Natsu.

 

Bickslow was sitting at the end of the table rubbing his chin quietly, he was thinking hard about options but the one that seemed best for him may not be what his friends wanted to hear. "Bait…" This single word was repeated multiple times by his babies who were as usual floating around him.

 

They all turned to him with a blank stare; thousand question marks were practically flowing above their heads "Mhm... she is after information, and we need to stall right?" They all nodded still not understanding where he was going "So we need to choose someone for questioning, but we need to make sure it's worth her time. If we give her something good, she'll have to report back to the council, which will take her longer. Even today when nothing extreme happened she only talked to Gray and Laxus"

 

"But… That would mean to throw someone into the fire" Lucy didn't like the idea of making someone bait in order to gain time for something she had caused. She put her hand on her chest feeling her heartbeat and trying to remember what the master had said, she had to trust her friends.

 

"It should be me" Bickslow gulped before continuing, he knew it had to happen if this was going to work "I'll go in and I'll do my best to avoid the questions at first while we stall"

 

Freed's eyes were about to pop out of his skull as he spat the beer all over his side of the table forgetting his usual manners "Bicks are you insane?! What happens when she puts you away?"

 

"Trust me a bit more, could you? It won't be as easy; I'll have to tell her part of the truth, she needs to think she has what she needs. I'm not saying it's going to work ok? But it's worth the shot"

 

Freed looked visible upset, not his usual level of annoyed but really upset "There's flaws in your plan genius. You'll have the information, and then what? If she puts you away then we won't know what you know"

 

"Come on… That's easy to fix. I'll take a lacrima and you guys won't be there but will be able to hear everything we say"

"Genius! And you think she is not going to notice you have a lacrima on you? You're foolish…"

 

Bickslow laughed and stuck his tongue out "That's when my babies come in. I don't need to have the lacrima on me"

 

Lucy was rubbing her temples, what Bickslow was offering was somewhat smart but there was something that didn't feel right. She decided to leave that thought aside and continue with the conversation.

 

"Fine, so how will we make sure she picks you?"

 

"Well Fairy tail mages have a tendency to be late… "

 

"We do?"

 

"Well, we do now at least" He smiled again looking around trying to feel the mood on the table. They weren't happy about it but they eventually nodded. Freed stayed silent looking down as his hands pressing on his knees.

* * *

 

Gajeel walked the rest of the day, he decided to rest in the last town before Phoenix Mountains. He had discarded the most populated places since it would be hard to keep a hostage there; he also decided to skip Crocus since the council was too close.

 

"Come on you couldn't have gone that far Salamander"

 

All he had so far were bad leads, a few mages that used fire, a couple of thieves with gasoline, and a fire breathing monster, but nothing on Natsu. He was having dinner and some drinks in a place at the village when a little girl approached him.

 

"Excuse me sir, are you a wizard?"

 

"Beat it kid, I'm busy"

 

"Sir I wanted to offer you a job, I don't have a lot of money but I have this!"

 

Gajeel turned with his unfriendly face, and was about to kick her out again when he noticed her; the girl wasn't wearing any shoes; she had an old beige dress on, it was all patched up; she was holding in her hand a few coins and a couple of candy pieces.

 

He rolled his eyes and put his hand on his face _-Damn you Fairy Tail...what did you do to me-_

 

"What's wrong shortcake?"

 

"Well I want you to fix the mountain"

 

"Right…"

 

"Yeah! I think it's haunted!"

 

"And why do you think that?"

 

"Well it puffs smoke!"

 

"That's called a volcano kid…"

"But it's not! I live in the rooftop of a house almost outside of town, and it has never in all my life done that!"

 

"Wow in all your life… how old are you?"

 

"I'll be 6 in a month!"

 

"Geez… look I… I'll look into it ok? I'll take this one for free"

 

The little girl smiled and hugged Gajeel's arm before running away. He was used to people running from his mad face, even avoiding him out of fear. It felt weird but not in a bad way; he smiled and continued with his meal.

 

He quickly disregarded the conversation with the kid and moved on. Gajeel decided since he now had less than two days before he had to run back, he would need a good rest before proceeding, the next couple of days would have to be a nonstop race.

* * *

 

Fukuro was unconscious again, that was a common state for him; he rather let it happen that experiencing pain over and over. He looked older than before; where his muscles used to be now skin hanged from his bones, there were more than a few gray hairs and wrinkles on his face; his big brown eyes looked smaller and a bit gray.

 

Natsu was sitting on a rock rubbing his temples, and watching him while mumbling to himself; his sanity seemed long gone. There were dark circles below his eyes, and despite of the fact he maintained his muscle tone, he looked a bit thinner. He hadn't eaten much since they got there and didn't allow himself to sleep more than a few minutes at a time. That's when he heard Fukuro talking in his sleep.

 

"Father I'm sorry… I didn't mean to. Please don't. Mother do something, not the trunk...don't lock me in"

 

Natsu's eyes suddenly lit in amazement, he removed his hands from his temples; this had certainly spiked his interest. He slowly got closer trying to hear as much as he could. There were only bits and pieces but he figured that if he heard enough, he could make something out of it.

 

"The storm...I'm sorry" He kept mumbling nonsense for a while but Natsu was determined to pay close attention "get me out….not the trunk" the corner of his mouth rose as he noticed tears running down Fukuro's face; this had to be what he was scared of. Fukuro woke up startled at his dream still mumbling and stared at Natsu.

 

"You look shittier every day Fukuro"

 

"You are not looking so good yourself"

 

Natsu grabbed Fukuro's hand and twisted one of his fingers until it broke.

 

"Sorry, I didn't hear you, what did you say?"

* * *

 

Gajeel was now deep within the mountains and wondering if he should continue; he had put all his effort in covering ground, he had asked questions in every single place he had been to, and chased every single lead, and he still had nothing. He sat on the ground facing the way back to the village to decide what to do.

 

Thanks to Gajeel's very developed senses, he was able to hear a very faint scream in the distance. He stood up in a rushed pace deciding to continue a bit further to figure out what it was. That's when he saw a "mountain puffing smoke", not from the top but from a hole. It seemed to be high in the mountain, but not at its peak which was a bit uncommon. _-Dammit kid...your haunted mountain does look suspicious-_

 

He figured that using his full strength it wouldn't take long for him to reach the entrance; anyways, if it was nothing he would still be in good time to go back and help the guild. He ran and pushed his way through the rocks without resting. He knew he had made the right choice as soon as he got a bit closer, that was a smell he knew well.

 

Gajeel was finally on the ledge at the side of the entrance, still catching his breath when he stopped. He needed to figure out if it was best to announce himself, or to enter just like that; usually he would have walked in without a second thought, but after seeing Natsu the last time, he wasn't sure that would be a good idea. He knew he had taken a second too long when a huge fire stream almost stroke his side.

 

A deep voice echoed from inside "You can't stop me Gajeel! Leave now!"

 

"You fucking idiot! I ain't stopping you!"

 

It became so silent that he could hear the wind going through the cave's entrance whistling, it stayed silent for a few minutes when Gajeel heard footsteps getting closer to him. Natsu had stayed in the darkness of the tunnel resting on the wall.

 

"Then why are you here?"

 

"I… I came here to make sure you held your word…" Natsu laughed with a bit of bitterness "My word?"

 

"You said if you did this maybe they wouldn't leave, remember?"

 

"I remember. But… you can't stay. I'm not getting you involve too"

 

"You are not, I'm getting myself involved, and if you don't like it we can always fight for the last piece of meat"

 

Natsu sighed, he got himself up from the wall and went outside covering the light with his hand, he hadn't been outside in a few days and the sun was hurting his eyes. Gajeel stared at him with surprise.

 

"What the… you look…"

 

"Like shit? yeah, I've heard that a few times this week"

 

"No, well I mean yeah you look like shit, but your scales are gone, what happened?"

 

"Hm well I'm not sure, they were there before. I guess the training helped a little more than what I thought. They come back when I lose control but it happens less every time"

 

Gajeel nodded still not understanding completely, whatever Natsu was going through was obviously taking its toll on him but he looked like him again. He started walking inside the cave when Natsu grabbed his shoulder to stop him.

 

"Are you sure? there's no going back Gajeel"

 

"Who do you think you are taking to punk? I've seen worse, dammit I've done worse"

 

Natsu grinned and walked with his hands in his pockets leading Gajeel to the back of the cave. Gajeel stood there absorbing the scene, he had certainly seen worse but never in a lifetime though he would see Natsu doing it. He saw an old man hanging from his hands, more than half of his body was burned, it was obvious he had more than a few broken bones and was so far gone he was drooling himself.

 

"Who the fuck is this guy? What did you do to the other idiot?" Natsu stood and pointed at the "rag" hanging before them "Gajeel Redfox, meet Fukuro Tatsuma"

 

Fukuro tried to hold his head up, but wasn't able to. Gajeel stared at him in disbelief; he held his finger up about to question his friend, but Natsu wasn't there anymore; he turned back to notice he was already standing next to Fukuro and holding his jaw with one hand. _-How did he get there so fast?-_

 

"Don't be rude! Where are your manners? Noble blood my ass… you need to greet your guests!"

Gajeel's eye twitched as he noticed how bad this had been for his friend, he was obviously not in his right mind. The scales may had been gone but he was starting to think they had taken a bit of his mind when leaving.

 

He scratched his right cheek with his finger; this made no sense for him "Hey… can you… elaborate?"

 

Natsu looked back at him and realized what he was doing; he let go of Fukuro's wrinkled face and walked signaling Gajeel to follow him to the other end of the cave where they could talk a bit more privately.

 

"Ok, please explain to me how it's possible for him to be the same guy I saw a few days ago? That's an old man!"

 

"You catch up quickly... " Gajeel didn’t take kindly to Natsu’s sarcastic tone "Salamander… you know as well as I do I'm not a patient man"

 

"Fine. Merryl told me a few family secrets; apparently, the mark they have allows them to control your fears and amplify them. No mark, no power"

 

"Bullshit, you took his mark at the party and no one woke up"

 

"Correct, so I had to go all the way. You see, removing the mark would only stop him from affecting someone else, but it wouldn't undo what he did. The only way to maybe, and I really mean maybe because I don't know if it works, is scaring the shit out of him"

 

"And it has taken you this long to make him scared? Dammit Natsu…"

 

"It's not that easy, you saw him… with every time he experiences fear he loses the hold he has on people. Physically torturing him doesn't work, I learned that the hard way"

 

"But it does! Natsu… Juvia and Lisanna are awake"

 

"What? How about Lev?" Natsu's eyes widen in surprise "She's still out… we need to bring her back"

 

Natsu noticed the sadness on Gajeel's voice; just by looking at him, he knew he had made the right choice. He had doubted himself so much but if his doom was saving his friends, and their loved ones then it was all worth it.

 

"Ok you need to tell me exactly when they woke up" Gajeel explained that Juvia woke up a few hours after he left when they were still outside of the manor; he continued to explain the day that Lisanna woke up in detail while they both tried to find patterns.

 

"Look, it's hard to tell from the days; I'm not even sure what day is today… I can't be sure, but I have an idea on how to finish this and I'm going to need your help… I'm sorry"

 

"Tell me what you need" Natsu gave Gajeel a look before sighing "Before I do, I need to explain something to you. Every time he reaches true fear he gets older, drained even; I think that matches the times where Juvia and Lisanna woke up. So this would mean that the final scare will most likely kill him, you understand that?"

 

"I don't give a shit; you can cut him in pieces for all I care" Natsu went over his plan in detail; Gajeel was listening carefully and was still very surprised the hardheaded guy he knew had come up with something so cold and planned. He was still listening to details and specifications when one thing came to his mind.

 

"Natsu...what happens after this?"

 

"I'm… not sure. I can't go back, I'll be risking all of you guys. Sure, I'm more in control now, thanks to your help, but that doesn't mean this won't happen again"

 

Gajeel thought about telling him what was happening back home, but he was scared Natsu would chose against his initial plan in order to go back. He decided to keep it quiet for now and tell him after they had finished with Fukuro.

* * *

 

It was early in the morning when Shanna got to the hospital; she opened the door holding a hot beverage on her hand, and looking around the room in search for the mages. The room was mostly empty with the exception of one mage laying across a chair taking a nap.

 

"Hey! Where's the rest of your friends?"

 

"Mhm?...Morning to you too. They are late, they are always late" She rolled her eyes and sighed in annoyance "Your name?"

 

"Bickslow"

 

"Well then, I guess you are next"

 

They walked together through the aisle in silence. Once Shanna opened the door she signaled Bickslow to sit on the chair, but he had no intention of making it easy on her. He walked to the table and laid on it while resting his face on his hand.

 

"Mr...Bickslow, please sit on the chair"

 

"I'm more comfortable here" he stuck his tongue out and laughed as he often did causing Shanna to roll her eyes again. "Also I don't think you'll need your runes for what I'm gonna say"

 

That certainly had spiked her interest; she decided to play along for a bit and sat on the chair. She tried to act a bit more relaxed, so, she put her feet up on the table, very close to Bicklow's stomach, which made him smirk.

 

"What could you possibly know that my runes wouldn't be required?"

 

"See, I'm more of an "All men for themselves" type of person; so I'm willing to cut a deal with you"

 

"Oh so this is a negotiation. Sir what makes you think I would offer you anything for information I can get by questioning the rest? I'm sure your friend in containment will break soon without food or water"

 

"You are very pretty, and also very naive. They will die before throwing anyone on the fire; you'll need a bigger containment unit soon. So what did the Ice Cube do to get himself detained?" He turned and rested on his back putting his hands behind his head.

 

Shanna raised a brow and crossed her arms above her chest "Why do you want to know?"

 

"I don't care really, just wondering how stupid he is"

 

The statement made her laugh a bit, this certainly seemed like the kind of guy who would throw everything away. She was certain her job would be easier now and felt confident enough "He refused to be questioned"

 

"Wow, so to answer my question, he was pretty stupid"

 

"Yeah; and why is it that you are so willing to betray your guild?"

 

"I don't like weak people, and my loyalty has been given away to someone else"

 

"Fine, I'm all ears" Bickslow burst into laughter grabbing his stomach "You are being naive again! You really think I'm going to tell you everything you need to know to close this case without seeing something in paper? You are crazy…"

 

Shanna's face was pale and serious now; she got her feet off the table and slammed her hand on it. "This is not a joke! Time is of the essence. Can't you understand that a man's life is at stake here?"

 

He stared at the ceiling above him and grinned, "I do, and I think you should move quickly on those papers then. Do you think that a man who's willing to sell his so called friends will be moved by one single life?"

 

She stared trying to read him without much luck. She blinked a couple of times in disbelief thinking this was too good to be truth but also knowing she couldn't have gotten a better opportunity. She pulled out a notebook and a pencil “What's it going to take?"

 

He started by listing an incredible amount of requests which he knew wouldn't happen. A ridiculous amount of jewels, relocation not only for him, but also for the Raijinshuu, he went as far as to ask for a house and a new car. Of course, he was just trying to make the discussion longer to gain as much time as possible.

 

Shanna was sitting there writing everything down with a sweat drop on her forehead and a twitch on her eye _-are you fucking kidding me…-._ There was no way the council was going to agree to all of it; she didn't know if they would agree to any of it.

 

Finally, they had finish the long parchment of requests; Bickslow looked pleased with himself, which annoyed Shanna even more than before. "Ok so now you'll talk" Bickslow looked at her and started laughing again harder than before "Woman you are crazy! On paper didn't mean for you to write it down with a cute handwriting, I want an OFFICIAL paper. I'm very aware these are not things someone like _you_ can promise; go call your boss" he shooed her with his hand causing smoke to come out of her ears.

 

"Oh my! Look at the time… I'll be going to lunch now. I'll be back soon and you can tell me how it went"

 

Shanna's eye twitch now looked permanent; she slammed the door open and walked away knowing she had the losing hand on this interrogation. On the opposite side, Bickslow was mentally patting himself on the back for a job well done. He walked to the same restaurant where they have met the previous night and went upstairs where everyone was expecting him already.

Laxus was still laughing at how angry the inquisitor was when he saw his friend entering the room. He stood up and clapped slowly. Bickslow laughed and return the gesture with an exaggerated bow before sitting down.

 

Freed was still unhappy about the way things happened but it seemed to have worked out pretty well. "So what now Bicks?"

 

"Well I already cost her half a day; I'm guessing she'll have to talk to the council and they'll make her reduce the list to something they are willing to give, then we can go from there. Now Freed she said Gray had been taken when he refused questioning, what do you make from that?"

 

"Well' I haven't seen the runes yet but I'm guessing they have a trick mechanism to contain people who refuse to cooperate"

 

Everyone nodded; it now made sense for Gray to be taken out without much fight.

* * *

 

**"End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path. One that we all must take."**

**― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King**

* * *

 

Gajeel had finished his part of the work, a metal chest with enough dimensions to fit someone in but not enough to provide much space. He had first pictured it as a coffin, but once Natsu said that he wanted as little space to move as possible, he had to change the original idea to something more compact.

 

"So what now?" Gajeel was very aware of what needed to happen, but even for him it sounded a bit harsh. He was half-convinced Natsu would change his mind at the last minute and make him take care of the rest.

 

"Well... I guess there's no time to waste, right?"

 

"Mhm yeah I guess"

 

They walked towards Fukuro and stood in front of him for a couple of minutes thinking on the "right way" to do it. After what seemed forever, Natsu decided to continue and grabbed him from under his arms while Gajeel cut the rope. Fukuro gasped in pain and as a reflex, he put his arms around Natsu's neck.

 

"What are you doing?"

 

"It's the end of the line old man"

 

Fukuro looked a bit confused, but Natsu tried not to pay attention to that. When Fukuro's eyes noticed the metal box, all the strength that Natsu thought was long gone from the old man's body made its way to the surface. Fukuro screamed, pushed and kicked, even trying to throw himself to the ground like a child during a tantrum. He could barely move his arms and legs due to his injuries, but he moved so much that his hand reached Natsu's face scratching one side of it pretty badly.

 

Natsu hissed from the scratch; he was much stronger than Fukuro, and could definitely overpower him, but he was moving so much it was hard to carry him. The thought of knocking him out ran through his head but if he did, then all their efforts would be in vain, and they'll have to wait again for him to regain conscience.

 

He fought so hard that Natsu accidentally dropped him on the floor; he tried crawling without much luck. Natsu was losing his patience again; he started rubbing his temples and mumbling to himself when Gajeel grabbed his shoulder.

 

"Hey… We are almost done" he turned Natsu around to face him; he still looked like himself which made Gajeel release his breath in relieve.

 

Natsu composed himself and turned back to the ground where the old man continued in his pathetic attempt to escape. Fukuro turned around and looked at Natsu with confusion again; with no more than a few words, and without knowing; he created the worse fear and regret Natsu would ever experience.

 

"Who are you? Why are you doing this?"

 

He felt his stomach sank to his feet. He hated the man before him; and he knew he deserved every single thing that happened to him, but seeing him so helpless and confused broke something deep within. No matter how much he tried to hide his humanity, he could never be the monster he pretended to be while in the cave.

 

Gajeel just stood there quietly; the hate he felt for the man was too strong, but there was a small sense of guilt in the pit of his stomach he couldn't shake. _-so, the devil grew old and confused, that doesn't get rid of the horns… does it?-_ He was wrapped in his thoughts, cursing his luck, he knew Salamander would not be able to complete his end after this, he had too much heart… or that’s what he thought until he saw Natsu pull Fukuro from the floor and carry him on his shoulders to continue.

 

The old man kept screaming all the way trying to fight his way out. Natsu stood before the metal box; he took a deep breath and he threw him inside. The box was indeed small; the space was barely enough for Fukuro to fit almost in fetal position "Gajeel… the lid"

 

"Natsu, are you…" Natsu's voice came out again as a deep growl with a demanding, and rushed tone "Give me the damn lid Gajeel!"

 

Gajeel knew he was right; they couldn't stop now. He took the lid and tried to cover the box but Natsu stopped him "Just give it to me and get out...now"

"Are you fucking crazy? I ain't leaving yet"

 

The look Natsu gave him was empty and cold again. He pulled the lid out of Gajeel's hands and without much effort and gave one final look at the man in the box. Fukuro's eyes seemed back to normal, they weren't gray anymore; that was the look of the man Natsu despised more than anything, which coincidentally made things easier for him.

 

"You can't win Salamander" Fukuro was back to his own self, trying to tempt his destiny one last time "I know… but I won't lose either" Natsu gave him a crooked smile before he started pushing the lid to close the box. That's Fukuro realized this was actually going to happen.

 

He had the strange idea that no matter how bad things went, in the end, Natsu wouldn't be capable of murder. Little did he know that when you take away everything a man loves, there's no limit to what he could do in retaliation.

 

Fukuro's screams were muffled by his metal confinement; he started pushing with all he had left which cause the lid to move a bit. Natsu stood on it, and lit both his hands on fire; he laid them on the sides and pressed sealing it permanently.

 

He was kneeling on top of the box still with his hands above the sides, he felt the vibration every time Fukuro pushed against it, and he heard the screams of agony and desperation. Gajeel was speechless; he stretched his hand to grab Natsu's shoulder but stopped a few inches before when he notice the small teardrops falling on the metal lid.

 

Natsu cleaned his face with the back of his hands and walked to a small pile of rocks. He sat down and rested his back on the wall when he grabbed the first rock "What are you doing?"

 

"We can't make thunderstorm happen, so, this will have to do…" He took the first rock and threw it against the box; the sound created an echo all around the cave followed by a painful scream that came from within the box.

 

Gajeel sat down next to Natsu. He took the second rock out of his hand before repeating "This will have to do" he threw the second rock to the box with a bit more strength causing a dent "You don't have to do this"

 

"Can't let you do all the work can I?"

 

The screams continued for a couple of hours. He would sometimes scream directly at Natsu, promising he would lose even more; sometimes he would yell at an unknown monster asking what he'd done to deserve it. Every time the "confusion" came back and his screams sounded like the ones of an innocent man, Natsu trembled. He felt his heart breaking a bit more with every thud.

 

They concluded that there were two possible answers; either Fukuro's mind was playing games with him due to the speed aging he experienced, which would explain why he sometimes yelled in anger and some in fear; or he was trying to appeal to their guilt in order to get out of an impossible situation. Both decided to believe it was the second option despite the fact they would never know for sure.

 

After a long time the screaming stopped, they had gotten so used to the noise that they felt something was missing; the only thing left was an annoying ringing in their ears.

 

They were sitting next to each other quietly. Gajeel felt grateful, he never thought Natsu would do this for them, for him. He wanted to say something but every minute that passed made it even more complicated and awkward.

Gajeel's lacrima rang startling both of them; he took it out of his pocket so fast that he almost dropped it on the floor, that's when her voice broke the silence completely.

 

"Gajeel! Levy is up!"

 

"Is she ok? What happened?"

 

"I don't know; she woke up about 15 minutes ago. She is asking for you. Gajeel... did you find him?"

 

Gajeel wanted to tell Lucy the truth; he wanted more than anything to tell her that he would take him home. After what Natsu had done for him, he felt he owed him greatly, and he wasn't sure he would ever be able to repay him. He looked up wondering if this was the same man that had fought with him so many times, if it was possible for him to go back to his previous life as if nothing had happened; he knew better than many that coming out of this was never easy.

 

Natsu didn't look at him, he didn't say a word but he shook his head asking him not to respond to that question.

 

"Gajeel… did you?"

 

"No bunny girl, I'm sorry… I need to go back now but I'll keep looking for leads on the way"

 

Lucy remained quiet on the other end of the line; he could hear her sobbing a bit which broke his heart a bit more. Natsu stood up and walked outside of the cave to get away from what felt as the saddest sound he could imagine.

 

"I'm ok Gajeel just… come home to Levy"

 

He walked out of the cave and found Natsu looking at the sunset, _-when did the dumb kid changed so much?-_

 

"Man you need to talk to her"

 

"I can't face them, not yet"

 

"Natsu I haven't been completely honest…you really do need to go back"

 

"Why? I'm gonna cause nothing but more trouble"

 

"Actually… you not going back may cause something worse" Gajeel sighed; he knew he'd have to face his decision to keep the truth from him eventually, but he never thought he would feel so in debt with him when it happened. "We tried to keep the council away, we took them to the hospital but as soon as they figure out it was magic related they notified them"

 

"And you tell me this now? Man you had a full day to tell me this!"

 

"I know… that's not all… They are holding Gray as a suspect; I don't know if they have someone else, but I do know that they won't rest until they find something"

 

Natsu's plans collapsed before his eyes, despite everything he'd done to avoid problems for his friends everything would still fall on them.

 

"It's ok, let's get some rest and we'll leave first thing in the morning ok?" his signature grin made an appearance, but Gajeel knew it was different than before; his eyes weren't smiling at all.

He nodded and followed Natsu back in the cave. Little did he know his friend had no intention to wait until the morning nor going back home with him

 


	16. Crashing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Failed plans with severe consequences on every end of the path. Makarov decides to remind the guild what it has taken to get this far.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! Thanks to Nenley again! this chapter is mostly the process to follow and starting now the tension will start to build up again after Chapter 17, so beware!
> 
> "Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything."  
> – Muhammad Ali

Bickslow had decided to take a long lunch with his friends to let Shanna stew a bit more. They tried to keep the regular conversation, despite the situation, since there was not much else to plan. They all knew it came down to gaining time.

 

After a couple of hours he walked back slowly taking his time; once inside the hospital he saw Shanna pacing on the aisle making an annoying clacking sound with her knee length purple boots. She turned to face him with her fisted hands on her hips.

 

"Where the hell were you?!"

 

"Woman, I went to lunch!"

 

"OVER TWO HOURS AGO!" He raised his hands in an apologetic sign "Well I didn't know you were timing me, I could have taken longer you know…"

 

Shanna stumped her foot forward on the white,  shinny hospital floor, showing she wasn't as "grown up" as she pretended to be. "Whatever! Let's go back; we have a lot to discuss". She kept stomping her way through the aisle elbowing nurses and doctors aside without apologizing; Bickslow sighed, and reluctantly followed her lead  _ -Well she is a foul mood now…- _

 

Shanna let herself fall on the chair and crossed her arms pouting like a child. He rested his back on the doorframe, and crossed his arms above his chest imitating her "So what's the verdict Madam Inquisitor?"

 

Shanna took a few deep breaths to compose herself which took all of her will force "Mr. Bickslow, the council has studied your requests and have come to a conclusion. As you are aware some of these are a bit… extreme"

 

Bickslow was trying as hard as he could to hide his smile; this was going exactly as he had planned. He could imagine Laxus laughing even harder than before almost rolling on the floor. "Oh, so, did they decline?"

 

"Not really" Shanna had a proud smile plastered on her face "You see, they actually agreed, but there will be a few rules. You'll be granted half of the jewels you requested now, along with some items of your list; the rest will be given once the information you provide pays off"

 

His smug look melted right off his face in seconds, and it took everything he had to not show his growing concern; not that it would matter since his helmet covered it well. He couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth; this was not what he had planned, and he now realized this one guy was more important than they had anticipated. "Well that is great news"

 

"Sure is. Here's your  _ official  _ paper Mr. Bickslow, signed and sealed by the council"

 

Bickslow held the paper on his hands, and did his best to avoid shaking in disbelief "Perfect, I... I'd like my leader to review it, if that's ok with you. He is aware of what I'm doing since I've requested for them to relocate with me"

 

"You'll get thirty minutes to get him here. This offer expires you know? Use your time wisely"

 

He smiled and left the room moving with all the fake confidence he could gather, although inside he knew this was only the beginning of his punishment. Once outside he called Freed who had been listening to the conversation thanks to Bickslow's babies.

 

"Freed, what do we do now?"

 

"We are on our way; I need to see how binding that paper is. Don't go anywhere Bicks"

 

Not even ten minutes had passed when he saw the rest of the Raijinshuu running his way through the rock road that led to the hospital. He opened his mouth to speak when Freed ripped the parchment out of his hand; Evergreen was panting, resting her face on the wall, and Laxus tried to pretend he wasn't tired at all.

 

Freed carefully read word-by-word mumbling to himself. The rest of his friends staring at him eagerly waiting to hear a word, any word. "This is bad Bicks… there are clauses in this contract"

 

Laxus and Evergreen stay quiet listening carefully to try to come up with a strategy. If it came to it, they were fully capable of overpowering the council's inquisitor, but they were aware that would mean something worse than being expelled from the guild.

 

"How bad?"

 

"This specifies that you need to sit inside the runes and tell everything in detail; if you refuse to do so you will be held indefinitely for treason; we all will"

 

"What? They can't do that!"

 

"They can and they will. It also says that after you finish you'll receive half the jewels you requested along with the first items of the list, and you will be immediately relocated by yourself; once the information you give proves to be helpful, the rest of us will follow"

 

"This is not what's supposed to happen" He grabbed his head with both his hands and bit his lip.

Evergreen held his arm softly "It'll be ok, you gained as much time as possible. You go in there and tell them everything you need to say"

 

"I can't do that…"

 

Laxus grabbed his arm to turn him around "You can, everyone will understand Bicks; we've done worse and they forgave us then..." He smiled at him in a friendly way and patted his back "No matter what we say or what we don't say, they'll find out about what happened; this way we can at least control how and what, don't you think?"

 

Bickslow nodded; he really didn't want to sell Natsu out, but he knew his friends were right. He had gained time, and now he could only wish his guild mate was able to come back soon to fill in the remaining gaps.

 

"Guys… Is this the right thing to do?"

 

Laxus looked at him and patted his back again "You do whatever you need to do, we'll be by your side Bicks" 

 

He was soon to regret those last words.

 

He walked back in, squeezing the parchment in his hand; the aisle looked longer than before, and every step he took made it look longer; his breathing was heavy, which make him a bit dizzy.

The gray door in front of him looked bigger than before too, as if it belonged to a torture chamber or maybe it was the fact that after his big mistake he felt smaller now in comparison.  _ -Come on… just get it over with - . _ He slammed the door open startling Shanna, who immediately got her feet off the table and stared at him. He sat down on the chair where he knew the runes would react to his every word.

 

"It seems we have a deal"

 

"Good, I thought you'll be half way out of the city by now. Did you really think I was going to make it easy?"

 

"You know, for a little while there… I did" He crossed his arms again, and smiled at the purple haired girl sitting in front of him.

 

"Don't waste more of my time Mr. Bickslow. What caused the fight inside the Tatsuma Manor?"

 

"The wedding. Lucy was going to marry him to avoid people from getting hurt"

 

"Please elaborate"

 

"I don't have all the details...What I know is that he had this magic that could control your biggest fear and make it happen; it was an ancient, and dark magic. He threatened her to use it against someone she cared for, if she didn't marry him"

 

"Against who?"

 

"...Natsu Dragneel"

 

"I see… was he the one who started the fight?"

 

If Shanna could see behind Bickslow's helmet, she would have noticed the fire in his gaze as  his eyes widened in surprise "He didn't start the fight. Fukuro Tatsuma started it when he took a member of our family by force" His hands gripped his knees with bruising strength as he tried to contain himself.

 

"That's so cute… in less than a day you went from calling them weak and selling them out, to referring to them as  _ family"  _ Her smirk was crooked again, she raised her index and touched her cheek "However, that's not what I'm asking… Did Natsu Dragneel start the fight that led to the kidnap of your host, and destruction of his Manor?"

 

"It doesn't make a difference"

 

"Meaning?"

 

Bickslow knew there was no way around it now; it was too late. "It would have happened anyway. We all went to the wedding to find a way to get her out of there; if we couldn't find something then we planned to take him down… by any means necessary"

 

"Who was in this plan?"

 

"I'm not entirely sure; there were lots of groups of people and some may have had the same plan"

 

"I'm assuming your team was part of  _ your  _ plan at least"

 

"Leave them out of this Shanna… I'm here and I'm answering your questions"

 

"Fine, you said it would have happened anyways, but that means it didn't. I'm going to ask again; did Natsu Dragneel burn the house down overpowering your guild mates and kidnapping Fukuro Tatsuma?"

 

Something felt wrong; he had given her sensitive information about a dark magic, and a plan to kill him even if he didn't use those words. He had hoped for a different reaction, and was surprised that she kept pushing for the same information; he took a second too long analyzing when Shanna added a comment she soon wished she had kept to herself.

 

"According to the council, Mr. Dragneel has always been dangerous... if this was his doing probably the strength of his attack took the three mages from your guild out; it's no secret darkness is deeply rooted in him""

 

"Wait...I didn't say he did it, why would you think he cursed his friends with dark magic? I just said Fukuro Tatsuma had the dark magic, not Natsu… why don't you ask about the hell he put everyone through? It's almost as if…" It hit him like a bucket of cold water; this plan would have never worked because the council had already picked a story, a victim and a villain. Gaining time wouldn't make a difference.

 

Shanna's grin grew bigger; she relaxed on the chair, and crossed her arms above her chest. "As if?..."

 

"As if you were trying to blame it on him"

 

She tilted her head and pressed a finger to her own lips "Mr. Bickslow, what a horrible thing to say! Do you think the council would condone any illegal action against the guilds?" She let her back rest on the chair, and held her finger up "but since you have no evidence of this…"

 

Bickslow didn't move, he didn't say a word. The anger rising inside him was too much to react. He held his fists so tight that his knuckles looked white from the pressure. He suddenly started laughing uncontrollably, and shook his head. He stuck his tongue, and kept laughing for a few more seconds; he then stopped, and took a deep breath before showing a huge grin, and grabbing his helmet with both hands; he was about to pull it off when the door was slammed open by Lucy barely catching her breath.

 

"Levy! She is awake!"

 

Shanna was shaking, her eyes widened in surprise; she was mostly scared of what could have happened, and partially angry for freezing and doing nothing. She tried to act normal; she wasn't ready to face Bickslow again, and was not willing to admit how powerless she was against Fairy tail IF they decided she'd gone too far.

 

She cleared her throat trying to redirect the situation "Ms. Heartfilia, could you please show me to Ms. McGarden's room? I have a few questions for her. Mr. Bickslow this is not over…" Shanna followed Lucy through the door; she took a second to look back at Bickslow who just smiled and waved at her in a childish manner; Shanna hissed before leaving the room clearly frustrated.

 

He sat there and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Bickslow knew he had let his anger get the best of him; using his powers against the council's inquisitors would have made things worse but he wasn't planning on letting her win.

He stood from his chair and looked at the white ceiling panels  _ -fuck… this is not going to get better is it? -  _ There was nothing more to do; he walked outside to where he had seen his friends last. 

 

They were still there, but now with astonished faces, and holding the lacrima in their shaky hands.

Evergreen walked right to him stumping her high heel shoes on the floor before slapping him across the face right below the helmet. Years of practice had taught her that slapping Bickslow without the proper calculation would lead only to her perfect manicured hand becoming red and bloated "Please tell me you are not that stupid!"

 

He rubbed his face before gulping "I… didn't do anything"

 

Freed shook his head in disappointment; Bickslow turned away from his stare "Bicks, we know you like the back of our hand… You were planning on removing your helmet"

 

"That's not...I wasn't…" Laxus was beyond mad; he walked straight to him and grabbed him by the shirt "Stop it… you were planning on using your Seith Magic, or your figure eyes or both! You can lie all you want to the others but we know you"

 

"I'm… sorry" Evergreen grabbed Laxus' hand softly pulling him away; her brow and mouth twitching from a mix of anger and pain "Why would you do something so stupid?"

 

Despite the fact it was Evergreen who had asked, he directed his answer to his team's leader. Bickslow opened and closed his mouth a few times without finding the right words; he spoke softly as if he didn't want to be heard "She… I know he did all he could to save her too. They are pinning all on him, and I couldn't..."

 

Laxus rolled his eyes and turned his back in anger while Evergreen was stuck blinking with a clueless face. Freed on the other hand didn't seem surprised by the statement and just covered his face with one hand while he sighed.

 

"You are betting your life for someone who you lack the courage to face! Not only yours but all of ours! You can't make these decisions on your own, you hear?

 

"I know…"

 

"We need to figure out what to do know; do you think Shanna noticed?"

 

"I know she did, she looked pretty shaken by it"

 

Freed sighed again "Well I guess we'll have to improvise"

* * *

 

Lucy and Shanna walked through the endless aisle until they reached Levy's door; they entered the room to find the young bluenette getting off her bed.

 

"Lev! You need to get some rest, please lay down"

 

"Lu I really need to go" her eyes were watering as she pleaded silently to her friend. Lucy grabbed her hand and directed her back to the bed. She looked at her and raised her brow trying to pass a silent message "It'll all be ok Lev… I'm sure he'll be back soon"

 

Levy nodded before noticing the additional presence in the room. "Can we help you with something?"

 

"Ms. McGarden, I'm Shanna the…"

Levy's eyes changed from pleading to anger when she interrupted Shanna "I know who you are. I assumed the council would send someone with more  _ experience  _ to question the guild, since we came into contact with a very dark type of magic" Levy was generally too polite and  patient for everyone's standards, but the amount of venom rolling from her tongue left no question about how displeased she was with her visit.

 

Shanna put her balled firsts on her hips and narrowed her eyes "I have plenty of experience dealing with crimes against non-mages"

 

"Well then we have no use for you here, do we? This was a crime from a dangerous mage to a complete guild. We need someone fully equipped to deal with this"

 

Shanna felt fire in the pit of her stomach; the little fairy was disregarding her authority. She straightened her back and responded with an overly confident tone "I'm working under the authority of the council Ms. McGarden, and until they decide that I'm finished, I will continue doing my job here"

 

"Oh I'm sorry!...Exactly who decided to send you? You know what, never mind; I will call the council tomorrow. After all, they'll probably take the opportunity to send more ancient parchments to translate as they usually do with their special council rates" Levy's tone was cocky; she had a long-standing work relationship with the council and knew almost everyone. Not only that, but she was aware there were many "bad apples" there who could be to blame for Shanna's presence.

 

Shanna bit her lip so strong that a coppery taste filled her tongue; she tightened her fists before turning to the door in annoyance. Lucy's eyes were wide open and her jaw was about to hit the floor still shocked by her best friend's toughness during that conversation.

 

"Daaamn, Go Levy!"

 

'Lu, she is bad news"

 

"How bad?"

 

"Remember that time the boys hid your keys to scare you, and then they lost them for real, and had to come clean to you? Remember what Erza and you did?"

 

"Holly shit… yeah I remember"

 

"Well… that was a walk in the park"

* * *

 

Gajeel laid on the cold stone floor from the humid cave with his back to Natsu; he was really trying to sleep, but every time he started to drift away, Natsu would start turning on the floor or pacing around the cave before going outside to get some air.

 

"Could you stop fucking moving?"

 

"Can't help it… Just go to sleep Gajeel"

 

"I would LOVE to…"

 

"I'll try to be quiet ok? I'm ...anxious"

 

Gajeel looked at Natsu and was about to shout a snarky response, but he decided against it. He understood what had just happened wasn't something easy for him, but he couldn't imagine how bad it was for Natsu.

 

"Fine...Just keep it quiet ok?"

 

After several attempts, he got used to the pacing sound and fell into a deep sleep.

 

Natsu's POV

 

I paced around the dark corners of the cave several times; I turned in my spot repeatedly. I knew what I had to do now. Knowing Gajeel would notice me leaving I had to be extra careful.

 

It started simply enough, he was more than used to me being noisy, and complained about it quite often, so, I did exactly that. He needed to tune me out if I was ever going to leave this cave alone. 

 

He eventually got pissed at me, as I knew he would, but didn't snap; he felt sorry for me, he pitied me. I wish I'd never seen that understanding look on his face, it just reminded me on how much things had changed.

 

He finally fell asleep a few hours after dark, but I had to make sure; I kicked a rock and it bounced a few times before hitting the wall echoing around the cave. Gajeel shifted his position and made a growling sound, but he didn't wake up.

 

I took everything out of his backpack until I found the lacrima, a notebook, a pencil and some other stuff that reeked of Levy, which didn't surprise me. I felt a mix of happiness, and jealousy; while most would probably thing Levy was too nice or too good for him, I knew better. It pained me to admit he was one of my closest friends now, and knew exactly how I felt. He had become a better person, and was willing to risk his life for the guild; on the other hand I was extremely jealous; he would get to live the life I had thrown away out of immaturity and -oh surprise- jealousy despite being as immature and probably more jealous than me.

 

I took a page from the notebook, but I didn't know how to start. This was going to be the hardest note I've ever written…She was the one who was good with words after all. I smiled a bit when I remember how much she used to tease me for my horrible handwriting  _ -Focus! Not the time for flashbacks!-  _ I had to shake my head a couple of times to bring me back to reality.

 

I took my scarf off my neck, and stroked it gently; it was still my most precious possession, and it reminded me of my father so much  _ -if you were here you wouldn't have let me make such a mess… but you are not… I couldn't save you, but I'll save them -  _ I placed it with the rest of my things, neatly folded under the piece of paper where I had poured my heart out; I wasn't taking any regrets with me this time.

 

The box was not extremely heavy for me, but I was so drained that it felt like it held the weight of the world in it...Now that I think about it, maybe it did. If it wasn't for the minor adjustments Gajeel had made earlier I wouldn't have been able to carry it with me. I hadn't even considered it until he asked what we were gonna do with it.

 

_ Flashback _

 

" _ So... we have an old dead man... in a trunk... " _

 

" _ Hmh… so?" _

 

_ He blinked a couple of times in surprise "Man really? I was actually beginning to think you had become smarter...What are we doing with the box? We can't take it back with us" _

 

" _ Why not?" I noticed it was a stupid question just as it left my lips. He looked at me with his usual lack of patience before shaking his hands in frustration "For Fucks sake! No body, no crime you idiot!" _

 

" _ Fine so we'll bury the box somewhere in the mountains" _

 

" _ We can't do it here. You've been here for days; you're bound to leave something that will lead them to you" _

 

" _ Fine! So we'll walk a bit further, bury the fucking box and then go back? Good enough for you metal head? We are still in good time, right?" _

 

_ Gajeel huffed in annoyance but didn't fight further "I guess so… I'll add some moving parts to this so we can drag it, but we'll have to make sure we get rid of the tracks. Salamander...No one knows you are here right?" _

 

" _...No" I lied the best I could. There was one person who knew where I would go if removing Fukuro's mark didn't work. _

 

_ End of Flashback _

 

I grabbed the box and started carefully moving it to the entrance. If I made it out of the cave without waking him up, then it would all be ok. I turned back to Gajeel one last time knowing him and Levy would be fine; telling myself I was right for doing what I did, and that I did it for them for all of them. I was lying to myself… my reasons were far from selfless; I just wished I could have seen Lucy one last time before it all came to an end.

 

Finally at the foot on the mountain I allowed myself to gaze at the night sky wondering if she was looking at it too; the cool weather would allow me to walk at a good pace until I got to my destination probably early in the morning; the exact point between Phoenix mountains and Crocus…

* * *

 

*After the Levy and Shanna's conversation*

 

Shanna left the room still furious at the fairy's responses; her knee length boots clacking furiously against the floor as people stared at her. She was puffing her cheeks, which were red from anger with her stiff arms and balled fists going back and forward. She saw Makarov at the end of the aisle talking to one of the nurses; she pushed the nurse out of the way causing her to tumble down.

 

"What do you think you are doing?!"

 

"Me? What type of Master is incapable of handling a few rough kids!?"

 

"Excuse me?"

 

"Your guild is a mess, it shouldn't exist, and you shouldn't be allowed to be a Master!"

 

"Watch your words Shanna. There are things once said that can't be taken back" The aura emanating from the old man sent a shiver down her spine. She always though Makarov was on a pedestal because of past glories, but once she sensed his battle energy she took a step back.

 

She cleared her throat trying to compose herself again feeling the imminent danger after snapping at the elderly man facing her "Ms. McGarden refused to talk to me, one of your mages is in detention for conspiracy, and one tried to make a fake deal before trying to get rid of me!"

 

"Is that so? Well… I'll be glad to talk to them if that's your concern, but I can assure you I fully trust my children's judgment" Makarov sharpen his stare, and tilted his head "Did you do something to upset them?"

 

"What?!" She couldn't believe his nerve; she was panting, her face was now a perfect match for Erza's hair "I came here to do my job! I get attacked, and you question ME?"

 

"Oh dear… I see many things, but a victim is not one of them..." Makarov smirked at her before turning around and leaving her cold and shocked. She heard him repeat the same words she had spoken to him, and a mix of anger and guilt invaded her chest.  _ -This is my job…- _

 

Makarov walked calmly outside of the building and saw his grandson quietly arguing with his friends in the far left corner; he shook his head as he got closer to them to the point his presence couldn't go unnoticed.

 

"Hey... Gramps…"

 

"Mhm... Who was it?"

 

"Who was what?..."

 

Makarov closed his eyes and took a deep breath; he held his hands on his back before turning to Bickslow without saying a word. Bickslow rubbed the back of his neck and stared at the floor as the Master approached him.

 

"Master… I…"

 

"No, you're not sorry. You did what thought was best and I can only imagine what she did to push your buttons; I just wish you kids would understand that we are stronger together than apart"

 

"Gramps he was just…"

 

"No excuses Laxus. We do what we do for the people we love, for our family. Now I don't know what you did to piss her off Bickslow, but her conversation with Levy or myself didn't go any better. Get everyone together and we'll meet back at the restaurant in less than an hour. Is that clear?"

 

The four fairy tail members straighten their backs sensing this was the wrong time to inquire, and spoke in unison "Yes, Sir". After the Master was gone, they stayed behind for a few minutes in disbelief, two of them had challenged the council to come at them and he was still on their side.

 

Makarov got permission to get the three girls out of the hospital; he didn't consider that a safe place for them anymore, and as far as he knew, there was no reason for them to stay anyways.

 

Levy was still tired so she depended mostly on Jet and Droy to move around; Juvia had been clinging to Lucy since Gray was nowhere to be found, no one had told her anything yet; Lisanna of course was in company of her brother and sister, who had just returned to town along with Erza after a quick search in the surrounding area; they both insisted on being so close to her that she was considering going back to the hospital just to get some space.

Once the group of nine (Makarov, Shadow Gear, The Strauss brothers, Lucy, and Juvia) got closer to the restaurant they noticed everyone was still outside waiting for Laxus to secure what had become their regular spot during the last days.

 

Mira released her sister's arm and walked right through the crowd getting herself behind Laxus who was still talking to the cute brunette, and negotiating the cost of the location. She had braided her hair on the side; her black mini skirt was way above half her thighs, and her white button shirt had an unnecessary extra open button. He was resting his elbow on the hostess station when he grabbed her hand and got it closer to his lips before whispering "Oh come on...I'm sure if you and I go the upstairs is still going to be empty; there's no harm in letting us use it again. I'm sure we can make arrangements right?"

 

The brunette blushed so bad she looked feverish, she giggled as nervously as a schoolgirl covering her mouth to then stroke his shoulder. Mira cleared her throat, and got a considerable amount of jewels from her purse; she took a step forward without looking at Laxus and threw them on top of the table. This simple action caused him to shrug and become still.

 

"One of each from the menu and all the beer you can spare. Don't even dare going upstairs if we don't call kid, is that clear?" Mira said with her signature cute smile but her eyes could have burned a hole through the hostess head. Although Mira hadn't transformed into anything scary, the dark energy leaving her body was so strong the girl just nodded and ran away from her spot to prepare the second floor.

 

Laxus stayed frozen solid for a few seconds, then he proceeded to remove his arm from the table and cleared his throat. He turned to look at Mira but she was already walking back outside with an extra swag on her hips, he sighed and cleared the sweat from his forehead while observing her hips moving from side to side a bit more than necessary.

 

Lucy hugged Mira and laughed, "Oh Mira you are so much better at this than Laxus! He's been making us wait outside for over half an hour every day before getting the space" Mira's brow twitched a bit as her not-so-sweet smile kicked back in "Oh, did he? Well I guess I'm more concerned with the well-being of my friends than on sliding my …"

 

Laxus cleared his throat again and interrupted "Tables are ready" No one moved, they were all sensing the tension from the Take Over mage, if there was something they knew, it was -Never ever piss MiraJane Strauss off- unless you want to die in the most horrible way possible. 

 

Once she walked through the crowd and passed Laxus, they started walking inside and up the stairs.

 

Laxus awkwardly took a chair to offer it to Mira who glanced at him and huffed before moving between Freed and Bickslow making them even more uncomfortable as their adored non-leader gave them a terrifying look.

 

Once settled, Makarov stood up on his chair and tried to push some sense into their heads.

 

"We are here today not celebrating but aching! We have survived this long because we have stuck together against all odds; we've survived dark guilds, losses and more pain than anyone should have experienced in a lifetime, but we are still here!" The mages nodded in agreement each having a different flashback that  marked their time in the guild.

 

"It pains me, more than what you would ever know, to see you are still not able to hold your own" this caused some of them to flinch a bit and look at him in disbelief.

 

A few voices started commenting from "I've held myself in battle a thousand times!" to "I've done everything for this guild".

 

Makarov shook his head again "I, I, I? You stubborn children did all of that by yourselves?" Silence took over the table as he paced and continued "throughout all of these years of making teams, rebuilding, fighting with our lives! The one thing that has been constant is that you haven't done it alone! We are family, and each of you still feels the need to take on more than you should without thinking on how much better it would be if we shared the burden"

 

Lucy squeezed her hands together trying to contain the tears in her eyes while Bickslow just looked at the rest of the mages on the table then looking down as his palms.

 

"Fairy tail has always been a place to call home, and to welcome those in need. I've raised most of you myself and I will defend you against  _ anyone  _ who dares to lay a hand on you. You've been your strongest self when fighting for the ones you love, and still today you face loss because you refuse to trust each other"

 

Lucy stood up so quickly that her dark wooden chair fell back on the floor; she hit the table with her bare hands causing them to sting before she could find the words in her head "I'm so sorry! This is all my fault… I should have told you everything since the beginning. I just…" Juvia stood up and hugged Lucy; the blonde didn't move, but she bit her lip and squinted her eyes "Juvia is sorry too; Juvia couldn't stand watching people getting hurt. Juvia jumped knowing she would die… Ju… I was scared too…"

 

Lucy wrapped her arms around the bluenette, and cried on her shoulder as Juvia stroke her back in a soothing way. Bickslow stood up next and cleared his throat "I...made things worse, I lost my temper and… I almost used my magic against the inquisitor…" more than a few opened their mouths in surprise but no one dared to speak. Mira held Bickslow's hand and stroked it with her thumb giving him a motherly look "You tried to protect what was important to you Bicks" she tilted her head, and crooked her mouth "Maybe not the best way to do it" she giggled a bit "But we can't really judge, can we?" Bickslow nodded and went back to his seat.

 

Some of them giggled a bit, but stopped when they heard a low whisper coming from the other end of the table "We… we were planning on taking him out" Levy closed her eyes trying to register her own words; Erza laid a hand on her shoulder before explaining a bit further "We should have trusted our guild mates… We decided if there was no other choice then we would take care of business ourselves" Cana put both hands behind her head "I'm not drunk enough for all this sharing…seriously, anyone? Another beer" A few head nods and hands up got everyone back to reality.

 

Laxus huffed "Well at least we weren't the only ones facing dishonor and persecution"

 

That's when everything sank in their brains; everyone was trying to help each other but no one was looking for help and that's exactly how things have become as messed up as they were.

 

That's when Lucy turned to Juvia and held both her hands; she stared at the master who nodded before she faced her friend's eyes again "Juvia… the reason why Gray is not here is that he refused to cooperate and got held… as an accomplice. We are not sure where he is right now. We should have told you..."

 

Juvia's eyes watered but she didn't flinch, she took a deep breath and held Lucy again "Juvia appreciates you telling the truth Lucy" She faced her guild mates again after cleaning her face with the back of her hand, she said "Juvia knows Gray-sama will be back; we just need to find a way to help him...together"

Makarov smiled knowing that despite the awkwardness and oversharing, today his children were stronger than yesterday and that would make them survive. This feeling remained although it washed out a bit once Cana's drinking peer pressure got ahold of some guild members.

 

* * *

 

 

Gray didn't know how long he'd been detained; he was kept in a dark humid room where he was taken after being held in the hospital for a few hours. His pride was a bit bruised along with his ribs and his face; the cuffs that stopped him from using his magic were so tight that his wrists were sore and red.

 

From where he was held he could see about fifteen more cells, most of them empty; each had space for only one prisoner sleeping on the floor with not even a rag to lay on. The gray cold stone surrounding the place would create an echo from smallest sound, and the black metal bars seemed to be reinforced with magic too; he could tell from the slight humming sound coming from them, which also echoed from wall to wall. The only other sound keeping him company was either one of the other few prisoners screaming in agony when their jailors visited, or the small sound of a water drop falling to the cold floor every few seconds, it was enough to make someone lose their mind, but Gray was determined to keep himself together.

 

Every time the water drop fell on the floor causing a light acute sound, his eye twitched; but then he found a recent memory that helped him cope and keep his sanity intact for longer. He smiled at himself for being so hardheaded, and regretted all the time he had wasted being far from Juvia before noticing her. It was funny for him, the sound of the water drop now made him remember the beginning of it all.


	17. Water & Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being broken and alone makes Gray think about how his story with Juvia started, it was still surprising how the person he thought less likely to open his eyes had smacked sense into his thick skull.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIYA! So... originally there was going to be a small background story for Gray and Juvia, HOWEVER *Raises finger dramatically, and takes a deep breath* I got overexcited and it ended up being a full chapter filled with misunderstandings and surprises, SO... if not a Gruvia fan please feel free to skip all this chapter and maybe read the final lines after the flashback, although I'll includ it at the beginning of the next chapter if you want to wait. 
> 
> WARNING: This is NOT a super serious chapter, this is semi dramatic fluff since we are building up to the really tense moment, so enjoy. 
> 
> Additional note: Ansel and Greg are original characters from a different story not available in this website.
> 
> -Ace- 
> 
> "Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart."
> 
> ― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore

Gray didn't know how long he'd been detained; he was kept in a dark humid room where he was taken after being held in the hospital for a few hours. His pride was a bit bruised along with his ribs and his face; the cuffs that stopped him from using his magic were so tight that his wrists were sore and red.

From where he was held he could see about fifteen more cells, most of them empty; each had space for only one prisoner sleeping on the floor with not even a rag to lay on. The gray cold stone surrounding the place would create an echo from smallest sound, and the black metal bars seemed to be reinforced with magic too; he could tell from the slight humming sound coming from them, which also echoed from wall to wall. The only other sound keeping him company was either one of the other few prisoners screaming in agony when their jailors visited, or the small sound of a water drop falling to the cold floor every few seconds, it was enough to make someone lose their mind, but Gray was determined to keep himself together.

Every time the water drop fell on the floor causing a light acute sound, his eye twitched; but then he found a recent memory that helped him cope and keep his sanity intact for longer. He smiled at himself for being so hardheaded, and regretted all the time he had wasted being far from Juvia before noticing her. It was funny for him, the sound of the water drop now made him remember the beginning of it all.

**Flashback**

_Gray had lost count of how many times he had hidden, escaped, or ran from Juvia's extremely obsessive behavior; no matter what he did, she wouldn't stay away from him. He had always been somewhat rude and cold to her but never to the extreme, desperation started sinking into him as he realized she would never stop_

_He opened the door to the guildhall just enough to see if she was there, and relaxed when he noticed none of the girls. He walked in and saw Gajeel, and Natsu arguing on a table at the back._

_"Oi! Flame breath, who's serving?"_

_"No one is! The place is supposed to be closed today, the girls left to do...something?"_

_It seemed Gajeel and Natsu had been there for a while since there was a rosy color on their cheeks, which was probably to the excess of beer._

_"Ice Princess! Make yourself useful and get some more beer!"_

_"I ain't getting you shit! Get up your lazy ass!"_

_Natsu got up and shoot himself towards Gray, which happily responded by punching his face to the floor; Natsu quickly spun his leg around and threw him too and that's when the usual daily brawl started._

_They settled after a while, got more beer and sat in silence. Of course, Natsu wasn't one to stop messing with people. He looked behind Gray and waved "Hi Juvia!" Gray quickly flinched and got to his feet to face the door, only to notice the place remained empty._

_"What the hell Flame Brain!" Natsu laughed so hard he fell on the floor tearing a bit "Oh come on Stripper! You love the attention"_

_A deep growl came from Gajeel's throat "Oi! Stop messing with rain woman already! Stay away from her, she's good people... dumbass"_

_Natsu had forgotten Juvia was probably one of Gajeel's best friends and kind of regretted his comment but kept laughing as soon as he noticed Gray's outraged face "I SHOULD STAY AWAY?! GLADLY!" he sat down, crossing his arms and pouting a bit._

_"Well you ain't trying hard enough, are you? She's still following you!"_

_"I'm not leading her on! What do you want me to do? Punch her in the face?"_

_The look that came from Gajeel's cold expression could have frozen the place off worse than Gray's magic "If you ever touch her, I'll slit your throat with my sword, ok princess?"_

_"Seriously? For Mavis sake! I would never touch her"_

_Natsu laughed again "Oh! But you let her touch you all the time!" it took longer to finish the sentence than to get hit by a huge Ice hammer and a large steel club; he fell to the floor and rubbed his head "Hey! You guys can't take a joke… damn it"_

_Gajeel got serious and rubbed his chin "Ya really want to make her stop? You'll have to be super clear, she doesn't get stuff the same way we do"_

_"I do want her to stop, I just don't want to be really mean to her; she's still a guild mate, and she helps me a lot when we team up"_

_Natsu who finally got off his ass from the ground pitched in "Well you ain't have much of a choice, you can't have it all dumbass"_

_Therefore, Gray decided the next day he would be clear to Juvia; he would tell her exactly how she made him feel with her continuous harassment. He understood this could break their teamwork, but was willing to do it anyways. The next day he waited for Juvia outside of the guild._

_"Gray-sama! Juvia missed you so much!" The bluenette ran towards him only to bump into his hand._

_"We need to talk"_

_"Oh Juvia would love to talk to Gray-sama"_

_"No, I'll talk and you listen. Look this ain't easy… you need to stop chasing me around" Juvia wrinkled her nose still not understanding "Would Gray-sama like Juvia to schedule time together?"_

_"NO! Juvia, come on! I don't want to be with you, I'm never gonna want to be with you! And you chasing me around is not going to change that ok? I'm tired of you creeping out of every fucking corner, your continuous harassment needs to fucking stop, you hear?!"_

_Juvia held her hand to her mouth as her eyes watered, dark clouds started to fill the sky slowly "Juvia doesn't mind if Gray-sama doesn't love her the way she loves him, Juvia will make herself useful"_

_Gray hissed through his nostrils in anger "It's not like that, you keep saying that you'll stay even if I don't love you the way you do, that's the thing! I don't love you at all, in any way, and I never will, do you understand?"_

_Rain started pouring violently as Juvia couldn't hold her tears anymore. She turned around running back from where she came from. Gray sighed before he heard a voice behind him._

_"Way to go Ice stick...but...I think you overdid it. Oh by the way, you were a bit loud and some of the girls may have overheard… Erza is inside and they are probably telling her already" Natsu grinned widely as Gray gulped picturing Erza pulling a thousand swords and throwing him off the bridge looking like a pincushion._

_He went inside looking like a nervous wreck as all eyes were on him; the rest of the guys were all crammed in a corner waiting for the worse to happen; they've all grown up inside the guild and knew very well when to bow out from a discussion between their angry female guild mates and… well, anyone. The women were on the bar now, and looked right at him as he walked slowly towards the guys when a strong arm grabbed him by the neck and threw him on the floor._

_"What the hell Gray?!" To his surprise the hand belong to Lucy; Erza and Mira were right behind her giving him a deadly stare._

_"Hey! I just wanted her to leave me alone! The girl can't take a hint!"_

_"Still! That's no way to behave to someone that has done so much for you! You ungrateful little..." Lucy was furious; he'd never thought she of all people would care about Juvia getting hurt._

_"Well…" He looked at the table and stared at Gajeel and Natsu who were staring back at him and shaking their heads in a silent plea. He pointed at them directly "Well they thought it was the best way to do it!"_

_The rest of the guys ran away from that corner leaving Gajeel and Natsu behind, before searching for shelter closer to the door. As if taken from a horror movie, the women cranked their necks slowly until their shiny eyes met the frozen pair of dragon slayers who were as pale as a white sheet of paper._

_Erza stomped her foot on the ground causing the guild to tremble "YOU?!"_

_Both mages shook their heads rapidly and consistently "No, No that's not what we said!" Gajeel said directly staring at Levy who was equally mad and started writing something on the air._

_"Solid Script! Thunder" the lightning struke them directly making them fall on the ground; it didn't take long for them to get up, but they soon realized it would have been better to stay there. They looked up to see Cana and Lisanna now standing next to Levy with their face so contorted in anger that they felt the need to run._

_TRIPLE UNISON EXPLOSION! After the explosion hit, they looked more like a piece of charcoal than like themselves. Gray was holding back his laughter when suddenly Mira grabbed him and threw him right next to them._

_Natsu stood up quickly trying to explain "OI! We never told him to say that! We said if he wanted her to stop, he had to be super clear! We never said he has to be a total dick about it!"_

_The female "demons" observed Natsu and Gajeel; Gray attempted to take the opportunity to leave before Lucy got ahold of him with her whip and pulled him back right in the middle of the angriest group of women he had ever seen. The fairies used the rest of their energy on punishing Gray._

_Once they felt he had enough they stopped only to notice it was still pouring outside; Lucy had seen this before when they met Juvia, and was worried about the girl being outside by herself._

_Lucy ran outside of the guild with her hands covering her head, which didn't make much difference since the rain got harder and thicker. She ran through a rocky path hoping she could find the bluenette and followed it until she crossed the river bridge; she stood there trying to see ahead but the rain was so strong she could barely see anything._

_She soon sighed thinking this would be an impossible quest when she heard a small whimper below the bridge. Lucy carefully descended through the now slippery path, but fell landing on her bottom clumsily._

_"Lucy! Are you hurt?"_

_"Juvia!" Lucy got up and took shelter under the bridge "No, I'm fine. How are you?"_

_"Oh, Juvia is fine…" the corners of her lips rose in a smile that didn't reach her eyes; it was a face she had practiced many times during her childhood._

_"You don't have to lie; we… heard you and Gray from inside the guild"_

_"Oh…" Juvia turned away to hide her face; the thought of everyone knowing how things went, and the things he said made her feel too ashamed to show her face. Lucy noticed and grabbed both her hands._

_"He was such a dick!"_

_"Lucy, no! This is Juvia's fault! Gray-sama could never love someone like Juvia. Juvia is not good enough…"_

_Just hearing those words coming out of her mouth caused a sensation in Lucy's body that she had never felt before. Her skin felt like burning, and her head was about to explode; she felt a sharp pain in her chest._

_"What are you talking about!?" Juvia tried to interrupt and explain, but she was stopped immediately by Lucy who had still plenty to say "Have you seen yourself in the mirror!? You are drop dead gorgeous, funny, smart, and caring! You could have anyone you want, and you are crying over a guy who's TOO STUPID to understand how fantastic you are!"_

_Juvia opened her mouth in surprise by her love rival's statement; she couldn't remember ever listening to someone say such nice things about her, and she certainly never thought to hear them from the person she thought would try to take Gray away from her._

_"Juvia is not those things! Juvia is lucky to have a little bit of Gray-sama in her life"_

_"NO, he is lucky to have you, and he won't know how lucky he is because you don't step back. Look, I'm not saying it will happen between you two, but you need to step back and let him see what his life would be without you. Whatever that is, wouldn't you prefer to have him as a friend than not to have him at all?"_

_"Yes, Gray is important to Juvia. Gray brought the sunshine to Juvia's life"_

_"Ok, give him his space and take some space for you. You are drenched; we are close to my house, why don't you stay over?"_

_Juvia had a warm feeling invading her heart; she had been fighting against Lucy for so long she never noticed how polite and loving she was. The bluenette finally smiled and nodded; it was still raining, but it was more like a drizzle now. Both mages walked to Lucy's house, which was no more than a few blocks away._

_Both mages entered the apartment dripping over the floor; Lucy went to the closet to get a couple of towels handing one to Juvia. "You should take a warm bath; you don't want to get sick do you?" Lucy smiled at her with kindness before preparing a nice warm bath for her friend. Once Juvia was finished, Lucy lend her some dry clothes and took a bath herself._

_She took her clothes off and had just stepped in the tub when she heard a voice she knew well "Oi! Luce! What the…" Lucy rolled her eyes and got out of the tub covering herself with a short white towel. She opened the door to find Juvia naked, and holding the towel against her body while Natsu was leaning on the window frame "Why is Juvia naked in your house?" Lucy held her fist up; her brow twitched "STOP BREAKING INTO MY HOUSE, YOU PERV! LUCY KICK!"_

_Lucy was panting, and clenching her fists "Oh Juvia I'm so sorry! I didn't think he would come"_

_Juvia was blushing, but she didn't make a big deal about it "Lucy, does Natsu break into your house often?" Lucy snorted in annoyance "Often? Ugh, he eats all my food and wrecks the place so bad that I usually pay extra rent to cover the damages…" after a few seconds of silence they burst into laughter. They both knew that for some bizarre reason, Natsu was not uncomfortable with nakedness. Lucy remembered the first time she heard Erza, Gray, and Natsu used to take baths together as if it wasn't a big deal to be naked around each other._

_Lucy made some tea and they both sat down on the couch, after warming up a bit they continued talking about Gray; Lucy was trying hard to get her point across Juvia's head; the bluenette was so hopelessly in love with the ice mage, and so little with herself that this proved to be a hard task._

_"Juvia, have you ever dated someone?"_

_"Hmm, once a long time ago but Gajeel-kun said he wasn't good for Juvia and scared him away"_

_"Well yeah Gajeel can be scary… sometimes"_

_"Gajeel is a good guy; he cares a lot for Juvia"_

_"I've noticed. So why don't you date someone? Maybe that's exactly what you need"_

_"Oh… Juvia couldn't, Juvia is very much in love with Gray-sama"_

_"Well you should at least practice dating" As the words left her mouth she realized how dumb her comment was; how could you ever practice dating if you didn't want to date._

_"Juvia could have a practice date!"_

_"Well, that's kind of still dating isn't it? You would have to find someone that knew it wasn't a real date, and that wouldn't go all crazy about you" Lucy smirked at her teasingly "We've already established you are a knockout! That's gonna be hard to accomplish"_

_Juvia blushed and laid her fingertip on her bottom lip; she thought for a minute and then clapped her hands together and smiled "Juvia knows the perfect friend for a practice date! Juvia will ask him tomorrow, Lucy… would you go with Juvia to visit him?"_

_Lucy smiled and nodded; she thought this was probably not easy for her friend and decided she would do anything she could to help her overcome the hard situation she was facing. They kept talking for a few hours before falling asleep._

_The next day they agreed to meet downtown at noon; Juvia wanted to go home and change before going to see her friend. They walked in silence for a bit; they surely bonded the day before, but in the light of day it was still a bit awkward; Lucy noticing things were not as relaxed as the day before, decided to make conversation._

_"So, where did you meet your friend?"_

_"Oh, Juvia met him a few months after joining Fairy tail. Juvia was walking around getting to know town when she found his shop"_

_"His shop?"_

_"Yeah! Here we are. Let's go!" Juvia pointed at an establishment. The sign above read "Le Nuage" written in beautiful cursive letters; the outside almost fully covered with glass, and adorned by mint color curtains. The place was decorated with pastel colored art, white brigg French chairs, and varied flowers on every table with a pearly string wrapped on every vase._

_The smell surrounding the place was magic; every deep breath carried a different one, caramel, cinnamon, chocolate; there were so many Lucy had lost count and was trying to not drool on such a lovely place._

_They kept talking for a few minutes, but were interrupted by the man trying to take their order. He was as tall Laxus, with a wide, very well built, back; His black, short hair fell above the big, shiny, cerulean pools that were his eyes. He was wearing a pair of tight black dress pants and a simple white button shirt._

_"Juvia!"_

_"Hi Ansel-san!"_

_"I guess you'll have your usual? and what for your gorgeous blonde friend?" he said winking at Lucy who was now blushing so hard she felt she wanted to hide her face under the white tablecloth._

_"Am...I...Hi" She gave him a shy smile "I'm Lucy"_

_"Oh!" he turned to look at Juvia in surprise "Lucy? As in your love rival Lucy?" Lucy was in shock; she realized this was someone Juvia trusted and talked to, how else could he have known about her; she wondered how much he knew about Gray, and if Juvia would tell him about what happened the day before._

_Juvia giggled covering her mouth "Ansel-san, Lucy is now Juvia's good friend. Lucy is not Juvia's love rival" Ansel nodded giving them both a smile; God that smile looked like a million bucks. He removed his hair from his eyes with his right hand, and leaned into the table "That's great! Pretty girls like you should stick together, although you'll probably attract more looks that way" another wink; Lucy's face was now as red as an apple._

_"Lucy has never been here, so I was thinking…"_

_"Say no more! I know exactly what to bring" The man turned around, and started walking back to the counter. Lucy's eyes wandered a bit to his back all the way to the tight pants, outlining the perfect shape of his derrière._

_"Oh my… Juvia! You need to date him! Fuck, you need to marry him!" Juvia giggled again, "Yeah, Ansel-san has that effect on people"_

_"Where, where did you meet such a guy?"_

_"Juvia and Gajeel come all the time to buy sweets and bread" In no time, Ansel came back with a huge tray filled with the most delicious looking pastry Lucy had ever set her eyes on. Éclairs, Kouign Amann, pastel colored Macarons, Mille-Feuille, and a small Tarte Tatin decorated the table along with two cups of coffee with a delicious hazelnut scent._

_Lucy's eyes sparked like a child inside the biggest toy store in the world "Wow, this looks… wow" Ansel smiled at the blonde nodding proudly "The best in town ma'am"_

_"Ansel-san, are you too busy to talk to Juvia and Lucy for a bit?"_

_He looked at his friend noticing there was something on her mind, he shook his head "No, of course not. I'll ask Nanako to cover the tables" He left to talk to the petite girl behind the counter before grabbing a cup of coffee for himself and joining the two mages on the table._

_"So, what's on your mind pretty girl?"_

_Juvia sighed and looked down. Lucy held her hand bringing Juvia's eyes back to her; she smiled at her friend and nodded encouraging her to narrate the events of the day before with excruciating detail. Ansel had stopped blinking for so long his eyes felt dry; his mouth was partially opened while listening to the story._

_"What a dick! He deserves a good pounding, what the hell is wrong with him?" Lucy smiled proudly "Oh and what a pounding he got… we took care of it yesterday. Anyways, Juvia and I were talking about how she needs to move forward, but she is a bit anxious about dating"_

_"You should totally date. That piece of shit doesn't deserve your attention"_

_Juvia frowned a bit; she didn't like people saying those things about Gray, but she also knew they said those things because they cared for her. "Juvia was wondering, would Ansel-san teach Juvia how to date?"_

_Ansel now looked confused, which led to Lucy adding her two cents into the conversation "We were thinking since Juvia hasn't dated in a long time, maybe going on a practice date would take the edge off, you know?"_

_His smile got bigger by the second "Of course! I'll take you on the best date of your life" Lucy thought he looked a bit too excited; she held her finger up and continued "Of course you know this is a fake date right? She isn't ready yet for an actual relationship"_

_Both Juvia and Ansel blinked a couple of times before bursting into laughter; Lucy was blushing again, she didn't understand what was so funny about her statement. The little bell above the door rang to announce a new customer._

_"Juvia!"_

_The newcomer rushed to get closer to the table. He was shorter than Ansel, but tall to Lucy's standards; his chin was sharp and elegant, and his brows thick, matching his hair, and underneath them a pair of shiny olive eyes. He had short brown hair and although he was lean, his body was well built. He was wearing a blue short sleeve casual shirt, which traced his toned arms and abs, and a pair of tight dark jeans._

_"Greg!" The man threw the bags he was holding on the floor before wrapping Juvia in a hug; he grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her forehead. Lucy's eye was twitching, -who the hell are these people?-_

_Ansel crossed his arms above his chest and shook his head "Can you get those bags from the floor? We have customers here you know?"_

_Greg smiled and stood behind his chair letting his hands rest on Ansel's shoulders. He grabbed his face from behind and tilted it back so he could face him before placing a kiss on his nose "Relax! I'll get to it"_

_He picked the bags up from the floor and headed towards the stairs on the back "I'll get this upstairs and be back in no time ok?"_

_Lucy looked at Juvia and then turned to Ansel a couple of times a bit confused "Ok, so, he is your...?" He smiled looking at Juvia, and then turned back to celestial mage with a big smile on his face "Well, Juvia would say he is MY sunshine"_

_Lucy smiled, as she finally understood why Juvia wasn't nervous about going on a date with one of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen . "This is perfect! So when are you two going on your awesome date?"_

_Ansel rubbed his chin "Mhm, well Greg is going out of town for work, and won't be back until Tuesday. Why don't we do it on Friday?" Juvia smiled and nodded enthusiastically "It's a date then! You are treating this as a real date doll, so, dress up"_

_Lucy and Juvia kept talking to him while they finished the rest of their pastries and coffee. After that, they decided to walk back to the guild; conversation seemed less awkward than before._

_"Juvia, I think if someone asks, you should say you are going on a date, but don't mention that it's a practice date ok?"_

_"But, it IS a practice date"_

_Lucy had a plan hidden on the back of her head and gave her playful smile "Yes, but we are pretending that this is a real date, right? So it needs to be real in every way possible"_

_"Mhm yeah, Juvia thinks you are right"_

_"One more thing… I know it's going to be hard, but from now on you need to ignore Gray"_

_"Oh Lucy! Juvia doesn't know if she can do that" a painful look made its way to Juvia's face; small dark clouds started accumulating above their heads._

_"Listen! You like helping Gray; think about this as helping him understand how important your friendship is to him, after all, you said whatever happens you want to keep the sunshine in your life, right?"_

_"Yes, Juvia needs the sunshine...Juvia will try to ignore Gray-sama"_

_They walked straight to the guild and opened the door. Everyone seemed surprised when they noticed them walking together with arms intertwined, and laughing. Juvia noticed Gray was there sitting with Gajeel and Natsu, but decided not to pay attention and made her way to the bar where the rest of the girls were._

_Levy was the first one to ask, "Hey Juvia, how are you feeling?"_

_"Juvia feels much better thanks to Lucy!"_

_Lucy looked back at the table noticing Gray trying not to stare; she could only hope the events would unfold as she expected._

_"She feels better alright, so much better she's got a hot date on Friday, and when I say hot date I mean ice-melting, knee bending, gasping for air HOT!"_

_The girls jumped from their sits inquiring for more details overwhelming Juvia with attention. Lucy glanced discreetly at the boys table noticing Gajeel and Natsu now staring at them leaning over to get the details, she giggled - oh Lucy you are so smart -_

_"Well Ice-Princess, your plan sure worked" Gray looked at Natsu who had a grin plastered on his face. "You are officially free from Juvia's attention"_

_Gajeel who seemed a bit less happy about his friend going out with yet another douche kept listening to the conversation between the girls with his enhanced hearing; he heard the name Ansel and got even more confused - what the hell… Ansel?...- That's when he noticed the blonde staring at him. She laid a finger above her mouth signaling silence before winking at him._

_Gajeel laughed and covered his face with one hand while the other two mages stared at him_

_"What's so funny?" Gray inquired with an annoyed look._

_"Oh you got rid of her alright. She is going on a date on Friday, apparently a hot one"_

_"Oh shut up, that's not possible" Gray had a smug look on his face; he was sure there was no way Juvia would be devastated one day and going on a date the next._

_Natsu turned to him still smiling "Mhm well apparently Lucy thinks he is…" he rolled his eyes and made a dumb voice "Gorgeous" he huffed a bit without understanding why this was bothering him so much, but decided to disregard his thoughts and go back to the present conversation._

_"Well that's great for her; she can go on her date and leave me alone for good" Gray crossed his arms above his chest and rested his back on the chair. He felt a sting inside but didn't mention it._

_"Well I know the guy; she's gonna have a good time"_

_Gray stayed silent but Natsu was more than curious about the guy Lucy had referred to as an almost Demi-God "Oh you do? Who is he?"_

_"Is this guy who owns a bakery downtown, a pretty good one actually. Fancy guy ya know? I was planning to stop by before going home anyways if you care to join me"_

_Gray rejected the offer at first, but after being teased by Natsu about him being scared of finding out how much better than him the guy was, he decided to follow both Dragon Slayers. When they finally got to "Le Nuage" Gajeel opened the door making the bell ring._

_"Oi! Ansel"_

_"Hey man!" They bumped their fists together smiling at each other in confidence "Your usual order?"_

_"Yeah, make that one to go, will ya?" Ansel nodded and took a carton box where he carefully placed the delicious pastry._

_"Oh these two idiots are from the guild too. Natsu and Gray, meet Ansel"_

_Ansel immediately pulled his head out of the counter and gave Gray a dirty look "Oh… so this is Gray"_

_"Yeah. Hey, so I heard you're taking rain woman on a date?"_

_Ansel showed a crooked smile and turned his attention back to Gajeel "Oh yeah! And what a date I have planned. That girl is not gonna know what hit her"_

_Gray was clenching his jaw but said nothing while he kept listening to the conversation "Im taking her to the theatre, then some nice dinner at a fancy restaurant… who knows, maybe I'll bring her back to my place after that"_

_"Oi! I don't want to know what she does after dark, ya hear? What about your… roommate?"_

_Gajeel couldn't think of a better word; he knew Lucy would kill him if he blew up their cover story "Oh… he'll be out of town so I'll have the house all to myself. Would that be all Gajeel?"_

_"Yeah, thanks" Gajeel threw some jewels on the counter and left the shop with both ice and fire mages following close behind him. Once they got to the fork separating the way back to the guild from Gajeel's usual road back home, they each went their separate ways._

_The next day passed quickly, the girls had decided to take Juvia out shopping for her date, and selected numerous outfits that showed a bit more skin than what she was comfortable with; however, she was determined to get out of her comfort zone and got them anyways._

_It was now Friday; Gray hadn't seen Juvia in almost three days, and it was bothering him a bit. He didn't say anything but figured there was something wrong since he was a bit more moody than usual. He was sitting on his usual table having a beer when Mira, Lisanna, Levy, and Lucy walked in; he was about to turn around when he noticed someone else walking behind them._

_Juvia was wearing a tight sapphire blue slip dress that made her legs look miles long; although she was used to covering more of her skin, this time her cleavage showed her perfect silhouette. Her hair was a bit curled and her face looked natural aside from a bit of blush and soft pink lipstick._

_Gray couldn't help but to stare at her, which didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the girls. Lucy was stuck in between laughing and feeling bad for her very clueless male friend staring with a dumbfounded look._

_"Oh Juvia you look FA-BU-LOUS" All the girls nodded in agreement; there was no one that could argue about it. "At what time did he say he was going to pick you up?"_

_"Ansel said he'll be here at 7:00, so anytime now"_

_Gray kept tapping his foot on the floor telling himself he was not bothered by the situation at all; he had asked her to leave him alone, which she did; he had asked her to move her attention somewhere else, so, why did he feel so annoyed? Since the day she had stopped paying attention to him, he felt a bit more lonely than usual._

_A few minutes passed when Ansel went through the door looking dashing. He was wearing a dark gray suit that fitted him perfectly._

_"Hey pretty girl!"_

_The girls' jaws dropped on the spot, he was elegant, handsome, and confident. Cana leaned over Lucy "Where can we buy one of those?" Lucy just smiled at her and pushed her away._

_"Are you ready?"_

_"Juvia is ready, where are we going?"_

_Ansel wrapped his arm around her waist, and glanced discreetly to Gray who was giving him a deadly look. "First the theatre, then dinner, and then… we'll see…" Juvia gave him a huge smile and nodded. The rest of the girls were now blushing while trying to contain they urge to scream excitedly._

_Gajeel and Natsu sat next to Gray who was frowning quietly. "Oi stripper, Juvia looked real pretty, don't you think?"_

_"She looked alright I guess"_

_"You guess? That woman has never shown an extra inch of skin since I've known her; I barely recognized her when she walked in" Gajeel would never think of Juvia that way, but he was bored and teasing Gray was fun._

_"Yeah! that dress leaves little to the imagination for sure" Natsu aimed his eyes at Gray before shooting "Not that I would have to imagine, of course" both mages looked confused, but before they asked, Lucy's fist connected with Natsu's head "Perv!" Natsu rubbed his head and pouted at Lucy "Oh come on, it's a joke!" she gave him an angry look before sitting, shortly after that, they were joined by Mira and Levy._

_"Don't be saying those things without context Natsu… The idiot broke into my apartment as usual; Juvia had just finished showering and was changing when he walked in on her… naked"_

_"It was an accident! And you kicked me!"_

_"Whatever!" Lucy snorted, "So girls what did you think of Ansel?"_

_Mira fanned herself with her hand and rolled her eyes "He is so...I don't think there's a word for it!" Levy imitated her movements and acted as if she was fainting over Mira's shoulder before laughing, "I know! I bet a guy like that would take your mind off anything… don't you?" this went on and on without noticing the annoyed expression of the three guys sitting with them._

* * *

_The date was magnificent; Juvia had never been treated in such a way. He opened every door and chair, he made her laugh and commented on how beautiful she looked; it was incredible how those simple details could make her feel happy and sad at the same time; she was happy she knew how it was supposed to be, and sad since she'd never truly experienced such a thing._

_After dinner they walked holding hands all the way to his apartment where he made some tea and placed pastry on the coffee table for her "Did you have fun?" he knew she had, but also noticed her smile was not complete._

_"Juvia had a lot of fun… it's just…"_

_"You would love to do this with him"_

_Juvia sighed and rubbed her shoulder "Yeah…"_

_Ansel walked to the window to close the curtains; he smiled at her and sat on the couch extending his arm "Come here"_

* * *

_Gray was trying to cool off (ironic isn't it…) after listening for hours to how perfect Ansel was, and how beautiful Juvia looked "Of course she looked pretty… why can't I just say that. Why do I care if she goes on date; it's not like I care for her in that way…". He walked by the bakery, and notice the lights were on inside the second floor, "Hmm short date… it was probably horrible" the corner of his lip curled up, but this quickly changed once he saw the hint of blue hair walking by the window._

_"Fuck...she is up there? FUCK...Ok no, I don't care! I should go home" His body was not really listening to him anymore; he took a quick jump and landed on the ledge next to the window. Ansel, who was clueless about Gray's presence at this point, walked to the window and closed the curtains._

_Gray started listening to the conversation; he felt ridiculous but couldn't stop "Come here"_

_"Oh Ansel…"_

_"You look tired; you should take your shoes off. Let me help you with that"_

_Gray heard a yelp that slowly transformed into slight moan. He couldn't believe it; there she was with the guy looking perfect and moaning at his touch. The same sharp pain from last time filled his chest, this time it was stronger._

_"Turn around"_

_"Juvia doesn't understand"_

_"Yeah just turn around, you'll feel so much better afterwards. I'm going to press hard now, it may sting a bit"_

_Gray was ready to leave; listening to this was harder than what he thought. He commanded his feet to move but he was just sitting there shaking. He heard a yelp again but this time it sounded like pain._

_"Ansel that hurts!"_

_"Because you are so stressed! It'll pass I promise"_

_Another yelp and that was it. Gray wasn't planning on sitting there listening to Juvia get hurt; he wouldn't allow it. He froze the window, and kicked it before jumping inside the apartment in anger; he took his fighting stand fisting one hand into his palm "Ice Make…" he stopped when noticing a fully dressed Juvia getting a shoulder rub from Ansel._

_"Gray...sama?"_

_A huge sweat drop appeared on his forehead while he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times trying to find the right words._

_"What the hell man!?"_

_"I thought… I… "_

_"You thought what? To spy on Juvia on her date? Seriously!"_

_Gray created an ice panel to cover the window, and promised to fix it first thing in the morning, before storming out ashamed and blushing. Juvia was even more confused now than before; she was trying to give him the space he so rudely demanded, and didn't understand why he reacted the way he did._

_The next day Gray paid for the window to be repaired but decided not to go himself; the embarrassment was still fresh. He made his way to the guild to get some breakfast, and maybe get rid of some of the excess stress by picking a fight with Natsu. He was halfway to his usual table when he heard Cana._

_"Ouch, Lucy! You are hugging me too hard!"_

_"Cana don't say those things, wouldn't want Gray to wreck the place!"_

_The group of female fairies laughed hard. He was extremely embarrassed, not only had he made an ass out himself in front of Juvia, but now since Juvia was more comfortable sharing with the girls, his embarrassing moment was of public knowledge. He turned back to the door and left._

_"Oi! Lucy why would you say that?"_

_"Natsu come on, you are the one who always complains that we can't take a joke"_

_He gave them the most serious, and adult look they've seen on his face "You know what he thought was happening to Juvia right?" The girls looked at each other trying to find an answer to the question, after all, it was unlike Natsu to analyze things deeply "You always say I'm the immature one, and that I'm dense… but seriously, you didn't stop to think about it?" Natsu shook his head and gave them a disapproving look "Figure it out"._

_He left the guild to try to catch Gray. Natsu couldn't understand embarrassment, but after years of knowing Gray, he knew he was not one to share his moments of weakness, and that… he could relate to._

_Lucy still looked confused "Do any of you know what he was talking about?" the rest of the girls shook their head._

_"Well, Bunny girl… as for the side of the story we know, he jumped in when he thought Juvia was being hurt… after a date… in a guys apartment...alone with him? Ringing any bells?" The girls opened their mouths in surprise as they realized what Gray thought was happening "I'm surprised Salamander figured it before you did. He probably thought something was happening without Juvia's full consent"_

_Everyone was quiet now; what Gray had done sounded jealous and dumb, but listening to the conversation without context could have caused anyone to misunderstand the situation and act the same way._

_Thanks to his acute nose, Natsu found Gray in a clear in the forest "training" although it looked more like getting rid of frustration; he knew better than to point that out. "Oi! training alone won't do you any good Ice Princess"_

_"Bring it on Flame brain!"_

_"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu placed both his hands to his mouth releasing a fire stream that built into a firewall. Gray reacted quickly to the upcoming attack; he fisted his hand against his palm_

_"Ice-Make: Shield!" The flower looking glass wall that appeared in front of him broke after receiving the direct hit but gave him enough time for his next move._

_"Ice-Make: Ice Geyser" The ground froze covered with ice spikes that made their way to Natsu; he jumped back several times until the attack stopped. He lit his feet creating a power boost strong enough to get him across the field. Natsu threw Gray on the ground, and landed above him pinning him down by his shoulders._

_"Stop!"_

_"Stop what! We ain't done Fire breath!"_

_Natsu punched Gray on the face "I said stop! This ain't fixing shit!" Gray was still pushing Natsu by the shoulders; he suddenly stopped and looked away. "Get off me…"_

_Natsu sighed; he sat on the floor, and crossed his legs and arms before continuing, "I know you are upset, but this is your fault"_

_"Since when did you become the talk type? And who are you to say shit? As if you were so much better"_

_He cleared his throat briefly before continuing "No clue what you are talking about, but that's not the point. Stop being stupid, you enjoy her company and you've been miserable for the last few days. Imagine if this keeps happening for years! I mean eventually she'll find someone you know?"_

_"It's not that, I just though he…"_

_"I know what you thought" Gray stared at the dragon slayer with disbelief he'd known him his whole life, and was sure at least in that area Natsu had to get things explained in detail "I would have done much worse than you. You just broke a window, and you stopped when you realized you were wrong. If I had heard someone getting hurt I would have acted quickly, but thinking it was the person I care about the most...hmm the place would have been burnt to ashes in a second… you know I have a tendency to over do it" Natsu plastered his signature smile on his face._

_Gray stood there quiet for some time; silence was getting a bit uncomfortable, but Natsu wouldn't say more. "Why do you think she is the person I care about the most?" He nodded and looked up to the sky "We're fighters Gray, we relate to the people we care by fighting for them or with them; you are different with her"_

_"Different how?"_

_"Hmm that's a complicated question...I think… we've lost someone we care about at some point, so we relate best with people we know we can't hurt; you and I fight all the time, but we know we can hold each other's game you know?" Gray nodded without thinking much "Maybe… you think you are going to hurt her, and that's why you don't want to get close to her. You need to understand the people you lost didn't get hurt by your hand man"_

_After a fair moment of shock Gray started laughing and laid on the floor "You are not as dense as people think, dumbass"_

_"I'll deny this conversation ever happened"_

_"You and me both… So… is that why you haven't made a move?"_

_Natsu swallowed hard "I'm going on a solo mission, should be back in a couple of days. Be ready because I'm going to ask for a do over on this fight"_

_"Anytime"_

_Natsu rushed to get his things unwilling to continue the conversation. Little did he know this would be the mission that would change their world upside down causing him to go down the rabbit hole._

_The next day Natsu would shake Fukuro's hand after getting his reward; his nightmares about losing the person he cared for the most would soon break his mind into pieces._

_Gray laid on the floor with his hands below his head. There wasn't a single memory of his childhood after joining Fairy Tail without Natsu in it; they constantly fought, teased, and annoyed; but he couldn't say he wasn't right. Out of all people who he thought could knock "emotional sense" into his head, Natsu was the one he considered the least likely to._

_He heard a twig break indicating movement, which made him stand from the ground in a swift move and take his fighting stance once more "Gray-sama?"_

_"Oi! Juvia be careful! What… are you doing here?"_

_"Juvia came to apologize"_

_Gray took a couple steps forward "No Juvia, you did nothing wrong; I...mhm I should apologize"_

_"Juvia feels bad, Gajeel told Juvia that the girls were being mean to Gray-sama"_

_"Ha! That's ok, I kind of deserve it. I'm really sorry I interrupted your date Juvia…" He wasn't ready to have a larger conversation, so, after apologizing he turned around to grab his shirt, which he had lost at some point, and started walking away._

_"Gray-sama...Why did you interrupt Juvia's date with Ansel?"_

_He stopped cold with his back still towards her; his blood was rushing to his face as he realized that woman would to be his doom "I...I…" Juvia took a couple more steps and held his hand from behind "It's hard for Juvia to understand…" she let go of his hand, and covered her face "Juvia is sorry! Juvia is trying to give Gray-sama space"_

_Juvia was about to leave, but Gray was now holding her hand "Don't…" he hissed through his teeth trying to find the words "I… do need space to figure out what's in my head, but I don't want you gone. I know it's selfish of me… not giving you an answer, and still expecting for you to stand by my side". Juvia sighed in relief "Juvia would never leave Gray-sama's side. Gray-sama brought the sunshine back to Juvia's life"_

_He bit his lip, and turned around crossing his arms above his chest "Juvia… every woman who has ever been important in my life has died, and I've always felt it was my fault; I couldn't protect them. I don't want you to get hurt" Juvia's eyes watered; she understood the feeling of lost better than what most knew._

_She closed the gap between them and hugged Gray from behind laying her hands on his stomach "Then Gray-sama should trust Juvia more. Juvia is strong and will always protect her sunshine"_

_Gray felt his heart skip a bit; the warmth filling his chest was unlike anything he'd ever experienced. He laid his hands above Juvia's, and rubbed them with his thumbs; he didn't know how long they'd stayed there but the silent understanding between them was soothing._

_Eventually they agreed things would go slowly until they were both able to figure things out without the constant intervention of their friends._

**-End of Flashback –**

* * *

Gray was sitting on the cold humid stone wondering how she was doing; she was probably worried about him but there was nothing he could do. He rested on the cold musty wall and closed his eyes to get some rest.

He didn't know what time it was when the guard woke him up by hitting the metal bars "Fullbuster! Get up"

"Why…"

"You must have someone looking over you; you're getting out"

Gray stood up growling as he got up; the pain on his ribs was still bothering him. He was crossing the place that was surrounded by the many cells he'd seen before; he could still hear the water drops falling on the floor and the faint screaming, but there was something familiar about it this time – Natsu?-

"Oi! Wait a minute! Where is that coming from?"

"Move it kid!"

"No! Wait a second. NATSU?!"


	18. Shock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu arrives to the destination where his final plan will develop, as always the need to save his family will come first. After Gajeel returns with his friends things get difficult between him and Lucy when the truth comes out before the spirit of Fairy Tail takes over and the planning begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi AO3 family! So, (beginning of emotional lapse) I care deeply for everyone reading my story, because as a writer (I have some pending original work too) I believe people reading your work get to see a part of your soul and true self that you don't usually show (end of emotional lapse) Therefore, I've decided to post this next chapter today instead of next weekend since last chapter was 99.99% Gruvia and although I love those 2 my heart will always be 1st Nalu, 2nd Gale and maybe others feel the same, soooo, here you go, more Nalu angst and painful love
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> All compromise is based on give and take, but there can be no give and take on fundamentals. Any compromise on mere fundamentals is a surrender. For it is all give and no take.  
> \- Mahatma Gandhi -

Gray stood up growling as he got up; the pain on his ribs was still bothering him. He was crossing the place that was surrounded by the many cells he'd seen before; he could still hear the water drops falling on the floor and the faint screaming, but there was something familiar about it this time – Natsu?-

"Oi! Wait a minute! Where is that coming from?"

"Move it kid!"

"No! Wait a second. NATSU?!"

* * *

 

Natsu walked all night without resting; during the long hours he thought so much about his friends, his family, but mostly about her. He silently wished he had more time to correct his mistakes, to be gentler and more patient; he thought about all the things he could have told her over the years where they became not only team mates but best friends.

"Well, I guess I'll never know now, will I…" he could feel the thin thread holding him together growing weaker by the second, but he knew he had to hold it together long enough to spare them from his actions. It was his responsibility to close this door forever and no one else could take the weight off his shoulders.

He couldn't keep his thoughts aligned, exhaustion had taken the best of him; his stomach was so empty that it was an endless knot of pain that couldn't even growl; sleep deprivation was twisting his brain, and it didn't take long for him to be unable to distinguish reality from the games his mind played. It was funny how in moments of desperation your brain can turn against you to punish you from the sins you don't regret; he could clearly see Lucy walking next to him, her smile from ear to ear and holding her hands behind her back.

"Where are we going Natsu?"

"Luce… what are you doing here? You...you can't be here"

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?"

"I'm ending this, you need to go home"

"But, I am home… You are home"

He felt his heart break; the pain inside his chest was so big that he felt he couldn't breathe anymore. She was his home, and he was planning to keep that home away from danger whatever the cost.

"Natsu, what's in that box?" He flinched a bit and stopped cold; his hands were shaking and he could feel his eyes water at the innocent question; she was still smiling all the way from her mouth to her brown shiny eyes. She repeated the question "Natsu, what's in the box?"

"I...He...Lucy please…"

"What-is-in-the-box?" she separated each word and enunciated significantly more than usual, obviously to let him know the question wouldn't go away.

"HE IS IN THE BOX OK? I KILLED HIM! AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN"

She lost her smile but kept her eyes on him "Why?" It was such a simple question, but the answer wouldn't come out of his mouth. He stuttered for a bit, he opened his mouth several times trying to put the words together but it was so hard to explain, "He was going to hurt you… I couldn't let that happen"

Lucy smiled again, but her smile was all but innocent "Silly dragon… you didn't do this just for me. This would be much easier if you would stop lying to yourself"

"What the hell are you talking about? I did it for you! I took him out so you and our friends could go on!"

"Did you? Did you really? There was nothing else in that mind of yours, nothing instinctive about it?" she stared at him deeply before walking towards him; she flipped her hair and licked her lips while leaning so close that they were nose to nose.

"You are not here… you are not here… you are not here" He closed his eyes, he knew this wasn't her, but couldn't help to move his arm around her waist and pull her closer while tears ran down his face under the starry night "I… couldn't let him have you. I couldn't let him touch you…"

Lucy smiled and brushed her lips against his before pulling away from him "And now you can't have me either, and you will never touch me. You ruined everything and you'll never be able to fix it, because you didn't truly save me from heartache did you?"

His sight turned blurry because of the tears that were nonstop and flooding his eyes "I didn't have a choice Luce!" he cleaned his face with the back of his hand and when he turned she was gone, not even her scent remained.

He kept walking through the plains until it slowly became a forest, he knew this path very well and knew where he would be soon. Natsu decided to play his game with patience so he hid the box in the woods and kept walking without it. He soon faced a large structure, bigger than any tower. The building had always been breathtaking, but then again any structure suspended in the air and surrounded by a number of smaller structures would always be interesting to observe.

As he approached the building more people noticed his presence, it didn't take long before he was surrounded by a big number of knights. They were easily distinguished by their attire, which consisted of long, sleeveless dark robes, over a light shirt with wide sleeves that ended below the elbows; their robes were covered in the front by a light cloth, that had the Council's symbol, a long cape held by a gem around their necks, and a weird looking hat with three tops, a central one and two more at its sides.

"What is your business here?"

"I come to talk to the council, not its lap dogs…"

The one who seemed to be the leader huffed in anger before pointing his weapon at him "You shall not pass this point!"

"Fine" Natsu gestured his with hands mocking the leader "I shall not pass this point. Then you go and let the council know I have information on the disappearance of Fukuro Tatsuma; I'll wait for five minutes and if they don't come I'll leave, and believe me I ain't easy to track…" He crossed his arms above his chest and gave him a cocky smile.

The leader looked at him with disbelieve before whispering to his second in command, who ran inside the building. It didn't take long for two council members to make their way to the open field. The knights took a step back creating an aisle for them to walk through while they looked down with respect.

"Ah, Natsu Dragneel from Fairy Tail! Your guild said you were on a mission, what brings you here?"

"I was on a mission, heard you were questioning the guild so I decided to take a small detour. I thought it was best to not make the council wait"

"Indeed… what information do you have for us?"

"All of it…"

"Meaning?"

"I'll provide you with the full story, the perpetrator and Mr. Tatsuma himself within the hour, but nothing in this life is free"

"Please, you can't seriously think we are going to fall for this…"

"You can add as many clauses and requirements as you see fit. I only have a couple things to request that are not negotiable"

"Name your price young man, however, please be aware we don't take our contracts lightly…"

"Of course, wouldn't expect less. After I comply, I want the case to be sealed for good; no further investigation on Fairy Tail for this or any past crimes of any of its members, and for every single member that is being held or was going to be held to stop being persecuted. This means a clean slate for the guild, 100%, and I'd like this to be as official as it can…"

Both councilmen turned to discussed this matter; they were a bit confused by the situation since obviously Natsu was one of the main suspects they didn't really think he would come to the council on his own. They decided they would play his game to see where it led.

"If we do this and you don't come back we will go after your guild with everything we have, you understand that?"

"Fine… then as soon as you provide me with proof that this is official, I'll be on my way. Oh one more thing, I want to see the paper and right after I get back it will need to be shipped to Master Makarov as evidence"

The council members walked back laughing, they knew Natsu well and their best guess was that he was trying to get his people out of trouble. They still remembered when he was a bit younger and dressed up as Erza to try to get her out of trial for breaking the rules, which only landed both of them in jail for an extra day. They took some time, but finally came back with a parchment, signed and sealed by the council.

"Read it and then sign below if you agree, be aware this is a binding contract young man"

Natsu read it to the best of his ability, and determined it was safe enough. He signed the paper knowing he was signing away his life, and a certain calm took over; everything was close to being over and despite the mixed feelings he knew this was something he had to do.

"Run along then" the council member signaled with his hand "We'll be waiting for our perpetrator, our full story, and for Mr. Tatsuma" The council member smirked still believing Natsu was playing an angle.

Natsu doubled back into the woods to get the box back from hiding; he had left it in an area that would be hard for most to enter because of the amount and size of the trees and bushes, but for him it was not more than a few jumps through the branches.

He started walking back, his palms were sweaty, as he knew things were coming to an end; he wasn't scared of the council but this still caused some harsh feelings. He was scared only of one thing… how his family would react when they heard about what he did; his dream from the cave kept hunting him whenever he managed to close his eyes; this was still fresh in his mind.

-Flashback-

_"I'm back!"_

_"Why did you come back Natsu?" Gray using his actual name was odd enough, but the way it rolled out of his tongue was as painful as a stab._

_"What do you mean why? I live here Ice-Princess"_

_"You were banned from here! Get it in your head!"_

_"Wh… you are crazy!" he looked at his shoulder to see his guild mark gone. He looked up and Gray wasn't there anymore. Erza was now standing in front of him._

_"How could you? Did you really think we would be happy to take you back?"_

_"Erza… but I… I did what I had to! You need to understand" He blinked twice and now saw Master Makarov; the look he gave him sent chills down his spine._

_"Gramps…"_

_"I should have left you where I found you. I never thought you would bring such shame to the guild" Makarov turned his back to him, and the guild darkened._

_Natsu tried to run after him but wasn't able to catch up. He saw Lucy crying in a corner and ran to her; he tried to hold her hand, and was rejected immediately._

_"Just leave! When did you become such a monster!? Because of you they are gone!"_

-End of Flashback-

It didn't matter now; he took a deep breath and kept walking until he was facing the suspended building once again. The guards notified the same two council members, which were a bit surprise from his comeback but still made their way to the green open field.

"Well, I see you come alone. What now?"

Natsu released the handle from the box; he knelt and raised his hands without looking away from the councilmen stares. Both men looked at him still not quite understanding what was happening.

"What are you doing? Do you think this is a joke? You signed a binding paper saying you would bring three things, the perpetrator, a confession and a Mr. Tatsuma!"

"And I held my end of the bargain" He took a deep breath "I Natsu Dragneel am responsible for burning that hideous place to the ground and taking that spoiled rich bastard away. There, you have a confession and a perpetrator"

One of the councilmen had just stopped breathing completely; the other had a large vein pulsing on his forehead and a twitch in his eye "That still leaves the matter of Mr. Tatsuma open. Where is he?"

Natsu raised his brow and shook his head "Really?" he turned his eyes to the side signaling the box, and stared back at the member with one of those -seriously-you-are-stupid- looks. The face of both council members changed from annoyance to fear in less than a second "You and you! Take him out of that box!" he signaled two knights that didn't hesitate to run while the rest of their peers pointed their weapons at the mage.

"Yo…I never said I'd bring him back alive… I don't think that's a good idea… since you know, he's been dead for a few days now. I'm no genius but I think you wouldn't want to do this here" Everyone stopped dead in their tracks; the two knights were not at all happy about opening a box to release the smell of a day's old corpse.

"You! You killed him?"

Natsu shrugged his shoulders as if taking importance from it "Yeah, I did"

That was the last he said before the council sent the full force of the knights on him. They were very proud to feel they had defeated such a powerful enemy, however, they missed to notice Natsu didn't fight back; he laid there letting them pull, grab, punch and scratch without moving one single muscle. He was very aware that one movement of his arm would send them back, probably in bad shape; if he wanted he could kill every single one of them.

* * *

POV GAJEEL

It was morning already, not that Gajeel would know since inside the cave there was barely any light, with the exception of a minuscule strip coming from the tunnel that coincidentally landed on his face. He turned in annoyance and rubbed his eyes before yawning, which make him notice something different in the environment; it was silent, and there was only a faint smell of Natsu that seemed to be getting colder and colder.

"OI! Salamander?!" He rubbed his face again and got up, and turned to get a full view of the place. His eyes landed on the place where the box was supposed to be; its trail marks had scratched the rocky floor leaving faint white lines. It took another look to notice Natsu's belongings, but when he finally saw what his friend had left behind, it astounded him.

He got closer to find the white scale scarf that Natsu wore every day, neatly folded above his backpack, and below a few pieces of paper; he knew how important that stupid scarf was, it was the single most important thing Natsu owned. It was made out of Igneel's scales and it was the only thing the dragon slayer had to remember his father by. -Why would you leave this behind?-

Gajeel grabbed the papers and notice they were letters, one for Master Makarov and the guild, one for Lucy and finally one for him. He put the other two down and looked at his name written in that horrible and shaky handwriting that he knew couldn't belong to anyone else but Natsu. He slowly unfolded the paper and started reading.

_"Hey Metal-head…_

_I wanted to thank you for your help, also wanted to apologize for the position I'm about to put you in. I asked you to lie to Lucy, and now I ask you to take my things back to her… you can tell her that's all you found._

_Gajeel don't be stupid, don't ever let Levy go, and don't make the same mistakes I did. By the time you read this, it'll be too late, so, don't try to follow, just go home. One more thing… She'll try to come to me, please don't let her; I'm trusting you to keep her safe._

_N.D"_

Gajeel punched the wall so hard the whole cave trembled under his fist, he was panting and trying to think what to do next, but he knew well he didn't have time; he had to go home now to report back to the master, and to help keep the guild together. He took everything Natsu left behind and carefully place it inside his backpack before making his way back home.

He ran without thinking about exhaustion, he soon realized that even running all the way back it was highly unlikely to make it there the same day. He sighed knowing his best shot was to take the train, although the idea itself made him dizzy; he had to get there fast, so, with limited choices he made it to the nearest town and bought his ticket. It would be about 5 hours of pure horror trying not to barf on it or pass out before he was able to get there; his destination was not the guild, but the town where he knew everyone was being interrogated.

Before boarding the train, he used his lacrima to call Makarov. It wasn't long before the Master greeted him.

"Gajeel, any news?"

"I… I'm on my way back, I'll take the train, and can you tell Lily to meet me at the station?"

Makarov stayed silent noticing Gajeel's voice was a bit softer than usual; the fact that he didn't answer his question didn't go unnoticed. "You're taking the train? Are you alone?"

"I'll be there in about 5 hours, just tell Lily to meet me there. Yes, I'm alone…"

"I see...I'll send Lily your way"

* * *

The whole guild was stationed outside the hospital waiting for Shanna, it was rare for her to be late for her usual grilling, but aside from being curious about it, no one seemed to care. As time went by, they grew more curious about it, it was close to noon already and no one had heard a thing from her.

"Hey Lev…do you think something happened? She was pretty angry yesterday"

"Lu, you worry too much, so, yeah she was angry but I don't think she could do much about it aside from snitching to the council, she has no evidence yet, so, it's highly unlikely"

"Yeah… you are right" Something inside her chest told her things were not ok; she didn't know what it was but it felt as her heart was being dropped from a cliff over and over. The sensation was making her dizzy; she kept rubbing her hands against her tights to remove the nervous cold sweat accumulating.

Makarov felt the general feeling of concern, he was experiencing the same curiosity but remained stoic trying to ease his children "Well, it's already noon and she is not here. Let's go get some lunch, shall we?" most of them nodded "I'll leave a message at the nurse's station just in case"

He went inside the building to inform them where they would be and left. Everyone walked together until the same place they had been using as their meeting point. Laxus of course walked at the front next to his grandfather.

Once they arrived Laxus signaled them to wait and grabbed the door, however this time Mira slapped his hand away and made her way inside before he did; he huffed and shook his head before noticing everyone observing, he was bothered by the looks "What?!" everyone looked away quickly, they knew better than to mess with him at this point. As soon as the cute hostess noticed Mira she flinched and held her breath "Hi! ma'am… what can I do for you today?" Mira's eye twitched but she held her smile "We'll be using the room upstairs again today, same as yesterday, one of each keep the beer coming, ok?" the girl swallowed hard and nodded; she quickly made her way upstairs to get things ready.

"Guys you can come in now" She held the door and let everyone in.

As soon as she was about to cross the door, Laxus grabbed her wrist and pulled her "What the hell are you so mad about?"

Mira rolled her eyes and tried to pull her wrist but he wouldn't budge "Let go…" Laxus pulled harder making her bump against him and grabbed her other wrist "No, you are going to tell me now. I can't handle your fucking psycho attitude anymore, and you are embarrassing me in front of everyone MiraJane"

She kept looking at him with anger, but suddenly she looked to the side and stopped fighting to pull her wrists away "I don't like it when you behave like that, ok?"

Laxus was confused by her comment, he had always behaved the same way "Oh so now you feel the need to protect every woman from me, seriously Mira…" she clenched her fists again; it was a very slight, but Laxus felt as if she pulled closer instead of away, which made him blush a bit.

"I don't… I just don't like it when you pretend to be like that" Mira finally looked up directly at his eyes "You can try to be the worse badass who ever lived you know? But I know that's not you...I just..." she hadn't finished yet when Laxus stopped squeezing her wrists; he moved his hands tracing her arms and landing on her hips.

Mira held her breath for a second just looking at him. They were both startled by the sound of the door after a customer left the restaurant, and that brought Mira back; she pulled away from Laxus and cleared her throat "We should go upstairs"; Laxus nodded in agreement, but as soon as Mira was gone he sighed -What the hell was that?-

* * *

PantherLily was waiting patiently at the train station using his combat form when he saw the train arrive. Soon after he was able to distinguish a dark tumbling shape falling from the train and landing on the floor like a sack of potatoes. Lily rolled his eyes and sighed making his way towards Gajeel.

"Need some help?" he was surprised when Gajeel immediately tried to pull himself together and reached for his hand, which usually wasn't the case "Gajeel, is everything ok?" Gajeel was panting and trying to stand up "Just… take me to the master"

Without further questions, Lily assumed his smaller form and took Gajeel up quickly; he didn't know why he was so upset or why the urgency, but he did know this was important for some reason.

By the time they made it to the restaurant Gajeel was feeling much better and was able to go up the stairs by himself. He kept thinking on what to tell them and how to do it, but as soon as he made his way upstairs, he saw no one was talking; all eyes were on the Master, waiting for him to break the silence.

Bickslow's voice finally interrupted "What does it say? Are they gonna come after us?"

"No… All investigations will be stopped, and Gray will been released"

Cheers erupted on the table, some hugged the person at their side, but the notion that this was finally coming to an end was quickly laid to rest by the master himself "But…" everyone stared back at him trying to contain their smiles.

"That's not all… this parchment is a contract"

"Gramps what does it say?" Laxus knew that face very well, this was the same face his grandfather had when he told him his father had been kicked out of the guild, and was now an enemy. He knew whatever that paper said, it wasn't good"

Makarov cleared his throat, and decided to read the paper aloud.

"On this day, the Magic Council Fiore Branch, will cease to investigate the Fairy Tail Guild and all of its members on any and all crimes against the council and the people from Earthland. This contract includes the release of Gray Fullbuster, and to stop the treason investigation against the Raijinshuu member Bickslow for the attempt to harm the Council's inquisitor along with the possible possession of forbidden magic".

Evergreen stood from her chair "This is wonderful! Bicks!" she hugged him tightly before being interrupted by Laxus "Sit… that's not all, isn't it gramps?" Makarov nodded and took a deep breath before continuing knowing how devastating the next would be.

"This contract is definitive and binding; the commitment made by the council will require the following clauses and requirements to be fulfilled…

The perpetrator will be delivered at the gates of the council's Fiore branch within the hour by the person signing this contract.

The perpetrator will provide a full confession and submit to the council's authority.

Fukuro Tatsuma will be released to the council.

The council will hold full control on the perpetrator's sentence; therefore, a trial will not be needed, however a private hearing will be held as a formality.

If the commitment fails to be completed, the council will have all authority to disown Fairy Tail and remove them from the authorized guild list.

If the above would happen, and Fairy Tail fails to disband, they will be treated as a dark guild and hunted by the council"

Makarov could see the looks of shock on all his children and his chest ached while he tried to continue "My children… This paper has already been signed and sealed by the council...It was sent to us as mere notification… They have apprehended the perpetrator and are now in possession of… Fukuro Tatsuma's remains... " He put the parchment in the middle of the table; there was nothing he could do to protect them.

Everyone started pushing each other to try to read but they were all so eager that no one could actually do it. A certain blue cat took advantage of his wings and small size, and pulled it up from the table, he sat on a wood beam from the ceiling observing everyone jump trying to catch him. He held the paper between his paws before breaking down.

"NO! Natsu!" Everyone stopped at that moment as if time itself had stopped moving when the cat dropped the paper, which started slowly falling following the natural currents of the wind. Carla and Lily immediately spread their wings and made their way towards him; she put her arms around him while Lily awkwardly patted his back, it was no good, he was devastated.

"Happy! It'll be ok"

"No Carla! It will never be ok! They have Natsu! What am I supposed to do now?"

Carla didn't have any words of encouragement; she could only hug him tighter as she had never done before. She couldn't imagine losing Wendy; the thought itself caused tears to run down her face.

The paper was on the table again, only this time no one wanted to touch it; Lucy pushed them aside and grabbed it "No…No...No" She held it up seeing Natsu's signature on the paper "No...NO!" She took a few steps back and lost her balance; before falling; Loke appeared out of nowhere and held her while he let her fall on top of him on the floor.

"Lucy! What's happening I could feel something was wrong!" He tried holding her but she kept slapping him away and crying her eyes out. He looked up and saw everyone's face, some crying, some holding their tears back; he heard Happy crying and looked up to see the other exceeds trying to console him. -Oh no…-

Finally, Lucy stopped slapping him and put her arms around his neck to keep crying. He saw the paper laying in front of Lucy and extended his arm. He read it all the way to the end and his eyes flickered; he wrapped his arms around Lucy and allowed her cry on top of him for the following hour.

"Lushy…" Happy still had tears on his face but flew right up to her; she grabbed him with both hands and pressed him against her chest.

Throughout this, Gajeel had stayed on the same spot; he decided there was no better time than now. "I need to say something…" Loke gave him a disapproving look "I think right now is not the time, we have more important matters to attend"

"Bunn...Lucy…" it may have been the habit, or the fact that it was a rare occasion for Gajeel to call her by her real name but she looked up with Happy still curled on her chest. He opened his backpack and clenched his jaw before getting Natsu's scarf and laying it on the table along with the letters.

She pushed Loke aside and tumbled her way to the table; she grabbed his scarf so hard to her chest that it seemed as if she wanted to fuse with it "Where did you find this?"

"I…" -say you found his things...say he wasn't there… say you didn't see him…- Gajeel wanted to follow Natsu's directions, he wanted to be off the hook for this, but before he put his words together his mouth betrayed him "I was with him…" His own words startled him; he looked at her eyes, which were now filled with rage and fire. Lucy laid her hands on the table and got on top of it before jumping Gajeel, causing him to fall back.

"You were with him!" she started to punch whatever she could; even Elfman tried to wrap his arms around her waist to contain her and fell victim to Lucy's elbow on his face.

"I was going to bring him back! I tried!"

"You didn't try hard enough!" She kept punching and pushing him back. He knew he could easily overpower her, but wasn't planning on hurting her more than what she was hurting already.

"I'm sorry…" Gajeel covered his face with his arms, and noticed she had stopped punching him. He looked up and saw she was still staring at him but there was no more fire in her eyes, just emptiness. She rolled herself and fell on the ground laying in fetal position releasing the most painful scream and tearing everyone's heart apart.

He composed himself and sat up before looking at her again, she looked like a broken doll "I'm sorry…" She sat up still sobbing, and cleaned her face before making her way to the table and wrapping Natsu's scarf around her neck before burying her face in it.

Gajeel sat in front of her and pushed the letter in front of her again, she hadn't notice it was there; then he took the letter intended for the master and pushed it his way "When I woke up he had left these behind for you… it was too late for me to go after him…"

"Did you know what he was going to do?" She asked with a mix of pain and anger on her voice. "Of course I didn't! He said he was coming home with me"

Lucy nodded and stretched her shaky hand to grab the letter when Loke stopped her "Maybe you shouldn't… not now" she slapped his hand away and grabbed the letter, slowly unfolding it; she took a deep breath and convinced herself she needed to know.

_"Luce,_

_I hope one day you can forgive me for hurting you so much; don't be sad. I finished what I had to do and I'm at peace with it. Juvia will take care of Gray once he is out, I know he'll be angry at me, please let him… It'll be easier for him to deal if he hates me a bit._

_I have so many things to tell you, but I don't have much time. I want you to be happy, to go on adventures as if nothing had changed. You are so strong Luce; you don't even know how strong you are… I always thought eventually I'd build enough courage to tell you how much you mean to me, but the moment has come and gone, and now it won't make a difference._

_It's selfish of me to tell you now, but I've decided to take no regrets with me; I never understood why my heart would be calm when you were around, or even why I started missing the smell of vanilla when you weren't, I guess it reminded me of you… I love you so much that my heart felt like exploding every time you cried for something I did. I can't handle the thought of you crying now, please don't do it… Be happy and find someone who's worth it, I never was._

_Please take care of Happy for me, tell him I'm sorry…I'll always think of you Luce._

_Natsu"_

She sat there with a blank stare, her friends were really trying not to stare but it was somewhat hard. They all knew the paper she held was a letter from him and due to the recent developments, they were unsure about what would happen.

Her face was unreadable, sad eyes, angry mouth, panting… "Son of a bitch!" they were startled by her sudden outburst "Who does he think he is? He has no right!" Some showed confusion, some were a bit scared by the volatile blonde; even Happy had stopped crying and was staring at her a bit alarmed.

"Lushy? What did he write?" The small blue cat rubbed his eyes and sniffed. Lucy looked at Happy and bit her lip "That idiot! He loves me? And he chooses now to tell me! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?" she had definitely forgot that the entire guild was there, which caused a moment of awkward silence that went unnoticed by her.

Happy looked a bit less confused "Oh that…" she stared at him with an angry inquisitive look "Oh that? OH THAT?" she pointed her finger at him and poked his nose "you knew?!" Happy shook his head and raised his paws "Oh Lushy, you're so stupid… I've been telling you he loves you for years now, why are you so surprised?" her brow was raised so high it would have gotten tangled in her hair if that was even possible, she turned around and started pacing on the room and mumbling something to herself.

Gajeel just observed the whole thing and blinked before remembering the second letter "Master? I'm assuming the perfect-timing-fire-dragon didn't tell you the same, hopefully"

Makarov rolled his eyes at him; it was obvious Gajeel was trying to get rid of the tension in the room "Of course he didn't… Along with some personal things to me he also left clear instructions for me to let things be"

Lisanna stood up punching the table and throwing her chair back "So he wants us to let him rot there! Fantastic!" Elfman grabbed her shoulder "Lisanna, he is being a man!" she gave him a deadly stare and pointed at him "Oh yeah? How much of a man will you, or any of us be if we let him die there?" Lisanna kept staring at him when Mira stood by her side with a determined look "Well, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wouldn't feel…" she raised her hands and did air quotes "Like a man, if I let him take the fault after saving my sister, would you?"

Most of the members present nodded, sharing the same determination as the Strauss sisters. Makarov intervened "There are several outcomes since it will be up to the council without a trial; he will either be held for life, or he'll receive a death sentence. What are you kids planning to do? Go up against the council, they will declare us a dark guild, is that what you want?!"

Lucy stopped pacing around the room and stared directly at him pointing her finger "I don't care! I don't care if they threaten me, if they force me to erase my guild mark or throw me in jail for life! I don't give a shit if they think we are a dark guild! Fairy Tail is more than its name and it's symbol, Fairy Tail is family! And I'll be damned if I let them take my family away from me!"

Makarov smiled "My sentiments exactly my dear" more than a few people stared at him in amazement "We are a family and we leave no one behind! Now, no one will be forced to participate, this will be a crazy, irresponsible, a very -Natsu-style- mission. Whoever doesn't want to be involved should go back home right now!"

Laxus laughed and shook his head, he finally understood his old man still had a few surprises to show "Well, if this is a Natsu-style mission then I guess we better get fired up" Happy flew on top of the table and fisted his paw "AYE SIR!".

Despite the danger of this mission no one left, they all knew this was go big or go home. Despite of the amount of energy and determination exuding from the room, Lucy knew better than to trust adrenaline.

"Lev! We need to do this in a smart way. Are you up for the task?"

"Hell yeah! I'll hit the library and find anything involving the council and their rules"

"Perfect, we need to be fast so meet us here before the end of the day"

* * *

Natsu didn't fight it. He stayed still with his hands up and kneeling on the floor and allowed the knights to wrap the magic cuffs around his wrists; he didn't bother to pull or push when he kept being shoved by them or even when they "accidentally" threw him on the floor.

Now, you may be thinking this is incredibly unlike Natsu, and that he would never go down without a fight. His weak and lost mind told him this was the best way to do it. He was taking the danger away from the people he loved, and he knew he was capable of taking whatever torture they threw his way and more importantly, if the council continued to investigate the only home some of his friends had ever known, would be lost. He knew they were all strong, physically capable, the best of the best; however, emotionally... most of them had been broken for a long time and that building, the name, and the people were the glue holding everything together.

He was led to an underground jail cell, he figured it was well below the ground since the smell from the outside didn't reach him at all; the guard had locked him inside a cell in and turned around.

* * *

As soon as Natsu was taken, the two council members decided the box had to be opened, they couldn't hold their end of the deal under a suspicion; they were not excited about what came next so they ordered the knights to do it while they stood at a safe distance from the box.

One of the knights inspected the box, walked around it and knelt down a couple of times before commenting.

"It's not going to be easy to open, this is sealed"

Both councilmen rolled their eyes and huffed in annoyance, almost as if they'd practice doing it at the same time, "Get a crowbar, a blowtorch! I don't care, I want that open in the next 10 minutes, do you understand?!"

The Knights ran as if the devil was chasing them, some even bumped with each other while they rushed to find the proper tools. It didn't take long for them to come back with two crowbars, two hammers, and a blowtorch; despite having the proper tools, opening the box proved to be a hard task. The knights in charge were getting tired already.

"Man what did they use to seal this?"

"I'm not sure but...Is it just me or do these marks look like hands and fingers?"

"Are you saying he melted this with his hands? This looks like very hard steel… or something"

"Now that you mention it… it's darker than most, even in alloys, not sure exactly what it is"

After struggling with chest for a couple of hours and calling reinforcements to stand on the crowbars, they were finally able to open it.

Before the box was fully open their brains went wild thinking about a box filled with the stench of body fluids, and a bloated unrecognizable body twisted in all possible ways; they could imagine the eyes popping out of his sockets, and his tongue hanging outside covered by a sticky substance.

They rushed to cover their mouths and noses as soon as the lid came off to avoid the stench, but it didn't smell that much; they turned to look inside, and discover the reason. The body was so dry that it looked like an old mummy; even the eyes had reduced their size and were way back inside the sockets, his mouth was open so wide that it seemed he had screamed until his last breath.

"What the hell?"

"This… how did this even happen?"

"This is the work of a demon for sure…"

They were half right, the work of a demon it was, but not the one they were thinking of. In the knight's mind, Natsu was the demon who had cursed the poor aristocrat to take his fiancée; the two councilmen certainly milked that thought and caused fear among the rest.

Soon after, the councilmen decided to call a man the knights knew well; Arlo the executioner would be in charge of giving Natsu a warm welcome, they were not planning to kill him yet since they knew their contract was binding, but that didn't mean a little punishment wouldn't be served before the council's audience.

Arlo was more a mountain that a man, bigger and wider than Elfman even; his face was full of scars but only a few were visible since he covered the bottom half of his face with a dark mask; his raven color hair was up in spikes framing his features. His eyes were as dark as his hair, deep but empty and cold.

Natsu's cell was similar to Gray's with the difference that he has given less freedom. He kept thinking on how much the tables have turned now that he was chained with his hands above his head and hanging from the ceiling, his feet were chained to the floor leaving him in a suspended state right in the middle.

Arlo walked in and they stared at each other for a few seconds before making proper introductions.

"I'm Arlo"

"I'd say nice to meet you but I'm no liar, maybe under different circumstances?"

"So, the demon speaks… Very well… Speak…" He crossed his arms and smirked signaling him to continue. Natsu smirked back and opened his mouth but the words didn't come out which startled him a little.

"What? Nothing else so say? Well there's no fun in that…" He waved his hand and suddenly Natsu felt something releasing his voice "What the hell?..."

"You are a Dragon Slayer right? I heard… your senses are very sensitive, which one would you miss the most?"

"Wait, what are you doing?" It started as a small ringing in his ears, but it kept increasing little by little until it was a high pitch sound drilling his eardrums so hard that blood started to come out of them. He didn't notice he was screaming out of pain, at this point he couldn't hear himself anymore. This is the same scream that Gray heard while being released.

* * *

Gray stood up growling as he got up; the pain in his ribs was still bothering him. He was crossing the place that was surrounded by the many cells he'd seen before; he could still hear the water drops falling on the floor and the faint screaming, but there was something familiar about it this time – Natsu?-

"Oi! Wait a minute! Where is that coming from?"

"Move it kid!"

"No! Wait a second. NATSU?!"

Gray still had the magic blocking cuffs on his wrists, he was tired and hurt, so, when the jailor sank his elbow into his ribs he immediately fell on his knees.

"Don't make this harder on yourself kid"

The blow took the air out of his lungs and he was more than sure that aside from the bruise he now had a few broken ribs "He is back there; I need to…Damn it… Natsu…" He could barely gather enough air to speak. He felt something hitting his temple and then it all went dark.

He woke up a few hours later, his eyes were still closed, but he felt a hand combing his hair and caressing his temple "Juvia?"

"Welcome back Gray" The bluenette was smiling at him but there was a sadness in her eyes; she leaned over and kissed his forehead.

"Where are we?"

"We came for you, we are in Crocus now…"

"Crocus? Wait…Natsu! Where is he!?" Gray sat up quickly before a sharp pain reminded him of his ribs; he grabbed his side and frowned as more questions and concerns filled his mind.

"I'll bring the Master" He knew it would be bad; Juvia would never avoid a question he made. When Makarov came inside the room, he was immediately bombarded with question after question.

"Where is he? Is he ok? What happened? How long have I been out?"

"He is with the council"

"So, I didn't imagine it…"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard him… screaming. I don't think I've ever heard him scream from pain, not like that"

"Gray… a lot has happened" He tried to explain in detail all events after he was taken, from the Bickslow incident, to Gajeel and Lucy, to the letters and the parchment sent by the council. Gray was left looking dumbfounded for a few minutes and suddenly that look changed to anger "THAT STUPID FIRE BREATHING ASSHOLE!"

"Gray calm down, look we…"

"Calm down? CALM DOWN? He put himself on a golden platter for the council! He should have… We could have…" His hands were clenching the sheet around him as his eyes watered when he felt the Master's hand holding his.

"I know… but we will fix it, together as we usually do. For that I need you back on your feet so Wendy will come in a little bit" Gray nodded, still clenching the sheet and biting his lip.

* * *

Makarov left the room and turned left to go into the next one where most of his children were still developing the correct strategy.

"By the sound of it, he didn't take this well did he?"

"He took it as well as any of us would Erza. We need to hurry, the private audience is tomorrow, have you kids figured out a plan?"

Lucy jumped from her seat with confidence; she fisted one hand and punch her palm reminding the master that while Natsu was not there, his spirit and energy lingered.

"We've got a plan alright!"

"Lucy dear… Am I going to be happy with this?"

She looked up and rubbed her chin "Well…have you ever been happy with any of Natsu's plans?"

"Not that I recall…" He raised his eyebrow with concern. If this plan was anything like any of Natsu's then he could expect nothing but reckless endangerment and destruction.

Lucy's grin widened, and in her eyes, there was fire, one that the master recognized as determination "Then you are in for a ride! The council won't know what hit them" her smile became cocky before she continued; "We're all fired up now. Tomorrow morning is go time!"


	19. Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Natsu is stuck in the same place facing his terrible destiny, his friends solidify their plan to get to him. Bonds and relationships within the guild grow stronger while battling against the heartbreak and pain of their current situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains mostly 2 things... Pain on one end (descriptive, don't say I didn't warn you) , and so much sweetness that I'm staying away from sugar for a couple of days, so fair warning XD
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> The man who promises everything is sure to fulfill nothing, and everyone who promises too much is in danger of using evil means in order to carry out his promises, and is already on the road to perdition.
> 
> \- Carl Jung -

The sounds came back slowly along with a leftover ringing in his ears, with the anti-magic cuffs, his healing was slower than usual too, but he didn't care; this is what he had to do to get his friends out of the situation, and he was well aware this had been his decision. He raised his eyes to meet Arlo, who was leaning against the wall looking bored.

"So, you finally came back; I was starting to lose interest"

"What did you do?"

Arlo smirked at him without responding to his question "Are you ready?"

Natsu knew something was going to hurt, he didn't know what, but he clenched his jaw and closed his eyes. The place where his hands and feet were restrained started itching, then aching; he suddenly felt as if someone was pulling his joints apart, and grunted. He opened his eyes and looked around, but Arlo was still leaning on the wall.

He was confused by the sensation; he was a Goddamn Dragon Slayer, he ate fire, spat fire, and he could make his body burst into flames, but he recognized the sensation on his skin was similar to the one caused by fire, which is why he was dumbfounded by the burning pain. He soon started wondering if this is what people felt when he burned them. The image of him firing his claw to burn Fukuro's wound, and ripping his skin apart from the wall found its way into his mind and filled him with regret.

"What the hell…"Natsu observed as Arlo started walking slowly towards him "What do you think of my magic? I don't really have to touch you to cause you pain, but it is always more fun when I do…" Arlo lifted one finger and he laid it on Natsu's collarbone. He didn't understand why it hurt so much, it was just a finger, it was just resting on him; Arlo started pushing his finger harder causing him to gasp in pain. The burning sensation on his skin was back, mixed with the feeling of broken bones.

"This will give a whole new meaning to "heighten senses" don't you think?" He removed his finger and punched Natsu in the stomach causing him to release all the air from his lungs.

"Did you know the largest organ in the body is the skin? It's interesting really, we scrape, cut, and hurt our skin all the time, and it doesn't bother that much does it? But… if you heighten touch…"

Natsu suddenly understood why at first he couldn't speak; it was actually him not being able to hear himself, why his ears were in pain, and why his body ached "What are you playing at? I gave the council everything I had"

"So you thought that they were just gonna throw you in jail? Or maybe kill you mercifully? Damn you kids are naive…" Arlo moved to Natsu's side, and grabbed his jaw pushing his nails to the skin; this sent a new wave of pain, but he didn't make a sound "Oh, we have a tough one, let's play a bit more then"

* * *

Gray was lying in bed looking at the ceiling; he was feeling much better after Wendy healed him, but something felt terribly wrong within. The door creaked, he heard the footsteps getting closer to his bed, but he didn't turn to see who it was; it wasn't until she was next to the bed that he glanced at her midnight blue eyes and her shy smile.

"Hey Juvia"

"How is Gray feeling?"

"I'm fine…"

"Hmm, ok, but how is Gray reaaally feeling?"

"Cut the crap Juvia, I said I'm fine…" He regretted the words instantly when he noticed she closed her eyes and sighed.

"Juvia thought we agreed Gray wouldn't do that anymore…"

"And what am I doing?"

"Lying to Juvia… Gray is compartmentalizing again"

Gray took a deep breath, he always fell into the habit of hiding his internal struggle, and that was something the people closest to him knew well "I'm sorry…" Juvia brushed the hair from his face before lying on the bed next to him; she brushed her finger on his bare chest above his heart; this was something she did often, it was like a secret code for them.

He felt her hand on his chest suddenly making things a bit better, he thought about how far they had come from the time where he would run away from her and when she acted completely crazy. He never thought he could be happy with her, and he wished he had come around sooner.

When they first started discovering their relationship, right after the incident with Ansel, Gray continued to be aloof while she kept creeping on him at every corner. It was almost comical for him that the person who kept bringing him back to reality was none other than the one he fought with the most. That was the time where Juvia learned to call his BS.

-Flashback-

_Gray was leaning on the bar talking to the guys and having a drink when Juvia launched herself towards him and grabbed him by the waist._

_"Gray-Sama! Juvia missed you!"_

_"Oi! Get off me!"_

_"Juvia found Gray-sama's shirt on the floor"_

_"Juvia…"_

_"Juvia thought today was a nice day to go on a date!"_

_"Ju…"_

_"How about Juvia takes Gray-Sama out for dinner" Gray noted the guys while laughing; he blushed and slammed his hand on the table._

_"Juvia! Stop! Leave me alone ok?!"_

_She widen her eyes, and nodded "Juvia is sorry!" She turned on her heel and left to sit on a table where Lucy and Levy were talking. She immediately grabbed Lucy's arm and rested her forehead on her shoulder while Lucy gave Gray an angry stare._

_"Oi, Ice Princess! Stop being such a dick to her…"_

_"Shut up Flame for brains… "The rest of the guys just observed the interaction a bit surprised by Natsu's reaction. Of course, by this point, Natsu's nightmares were already haunting his dreams, every night he would see himself tearing Lucy apart ignoring her screams and tears. So, the sight of his friend emotionally hurting someone he clearly cared for, rubbed him the wrong way._

_"No, I won't, so you can either listen or walk away like a coward" The guys stiffen at his comment, they weren't used to him being serious, which made them feel bad for laughing at Gray's interaction with Juvia._

_"Look, you can play tough all you want, but seriously, have you ever thought about why she puts up with your shit? Has she ever talked back to you when you're being an idiot? NO, she hasn't. Have you ever considered that you are creating more and more damage to her, and she just takes it without saying a thing?"_

_"I…"_

_"You what? You feel the need of being an idiot because we are here? That's a dumb excuse even for someone whose brain is frozen dead…"_

_"Oi! You want a piece of me Pyro?!"_

_"I'll take that any day of the week Stripper! But right know you are using this as yet another excuse to not face your own shit…"_

_The guys were so uncomfortable at this point that they had slowly started retreating to another table to leave the interaction. Gray hissed through his teeth and walked to the girls table with his hands inside his pockets… "Juvia…let's go…"_

_She still had tears in her eyes but smiled and nodded anyways; they crossed the guild doors and walked for a while, she kept her distance, always behind him. Natsu's words kept resonating in his mind when he noticed he was practically walking alone._

_"Hey, why are you over there?"_

_"Juvia is giving Gray space"_

_He sighed, "Come here… walk with me ok?"_

_She gave him a big smile that resembled a kid receiving a huge Christmas present; after a few moments of silence he decided to start a conversation, "Hey, I need to ask you something…" She stared at him for a couple of seconds and nodded._

_"Why don't you get angry at me?"_

_"Why would Juvia be angry at Gray?"_

_"Well… sometimes I… uhm" the voice of Natsu calling him a coward resonated in his head, he knew this was not going to be simple and that things would never change unless he did something different "sometimes I act like an idiot… and I'm mean, and I yell at you. You shouldn't stay quiet about it"_

_"Juvia doesn't mind… Juvia hasn't had a lot of people being nice to her, except for Gajeel" The idea of Gajeel being the nicest person Juvia had met kind of gave him an idea of what Natsu referred to, she didn't know better._

_"What about your family?"_

_"Juvia has no family; Fairy Tail is Juvia's family now. Before, Juvia wasn't very liked by people since she brought rain with her"_

_He felt a pinch in his heart, she was as alone as a child, she was like him with the difference that he soon found shelter in a place where he was loved. He noticed he was doing the same that people had done to her over her life._

_"Juvia… it's not ok for me to treat you like that, and sometimes I don't notice it. I'll try to change it but I need you to face me when it happens"_

_"But, wouldn't that make Gray angry at Juvia?"_

_"It's fine… Juvia, couples argue all the time, that doesn't mean they will leave each other" He froze immediately after finishing those words._

_"Co… couple? Are Gray and Juvia a couple now?" He rubbed the back of his head and blushed "Yeah… I thought… I mean yeah…" He shook his head and continued before losing his train of thought, "Look, I'm bad at sharing ok? So you need to tell me when I'm acting like an idiot"_

_She nodded in agreement "And Gray won't leave Juvia because of that?" He smiled and grabbed her index finger bringing it above his heart and drawing a cross "Cross my heart" She laid her hand on his chest and they stayed in silence until he pulled her closer and gave her a chaste kiss, then he cleared his throat and looked around to make sure no one was watching._

-End of Flashback -

"Tell Juvia…"

"I'm fucking mad at him, he is a complete idiot, and as usual he got himself in trouble because of course! Flame for brains can't take one minute to consider his actions can he?" he frowned before turning his face to the wall on his right "How could he do this? Can you believe how much an idiot he was?"

Juvia listened to him patiently, occasionally nodding, and allowed him to vent, "If we get him back I'm going to give him the beating of a lifetime!" Gray suddenly stopped and held his breath "If… we…" Juvia got on her elbow and grabbed Gray's face turning him towards her; she noticed tears running down his face.

"WHEN we get him back, not IF"

"What if he is too far gone?..."

"Then we'll bring him back, that's what Fairy Tail does best" She gave him a warm smile and rubbed her thumb on his cheek removing the tears "You've done this, you did it with Juvia, Gajeel, Laxus, and Natsu before"

Gray remembered every single time someone drifted away; the images flooded his head; Laxus' return to the guild after his almost killing spree, Gajeel and Juvia becoming part of the guild after almost destroying it, and Lucy risking her life to rewrite Natsu's book to keep him anchored; this is what they did, the family was never left behind.

Gray pulled Juvia's face closer to him and closed the gap between their lips with a sweet and deep kiss, he pulled away to look at her; this was the woman that had melted the ice shell of his heart with more than just determination, "I love you so much…" Juvia narrowed her eyes and smiled again, "Not as much as Juvia does"

She closed the gap again to kiss him; Gray brushed his tongue against her lower lip causing her to open her mouth, and he took advantage of it to deepen the kiss by caressing every inch and exploring it with his tongue. He placed his hands on her waist pulling her on top of him, and fisted his hand on her hair while his other rested on the small of her back.

Her long skirt curled all the way to her tights; thankfully, it was open on both sides, which allowed her to keep each leg on each side of his body. Their bodies responded to the closeness immediately; Juvia let a small moan escape her mouth, that Gray swallowed completely with a kiss making her body shiver.

"Ahem…sorry for the interruption guys, the door was open; we have important matters to discuss" Juvia sat up and got off Gray so fast that she almost fell off the bed.

"Ahem… Hi Mira…"

Mira smiled, and put her hands together "You guys are going to have the cutest babies!"

"babies-babies-babies-babies" Juvia's eyes were spinning, her face was as red as Erza's hair, and you could almost see the steam coming from her ears.

"Oh well! We'll wait for you guys next door"

"Oi! Mira!" Before Gray could ask her to keep this incident quiet, she was gone; he was well aware that even if he asked the possibilities were slim to none anyways.

* * *

"What to do, what to do… Should we take a sense away or make it as sharp as we can? So many choices…"

"Is that all you've got? Kind of lame for an executioner… Fukuro did a better job on me than that, and he was a piece of shit…"

Arlo laughed maniacally "You have a big mouth kid, let's see if we can make it smaller shall we?" He took a short, thin knife from his belt and kneeled on Natsu's left side looking right at his ribcage.

"Now, I'll ask you not to move until I'm done, you wouldn't like for me to pierce your lung would you?" Natsu could feel the knife piercing his skin and cutting it like butter; he bit his lip to drown his voice, and he just left a whimper out from time to time.

With Arlo heightening his sense of touch, the knife felt like cutting through his body completely; if he didn't know better, he would say he was cutting through muscle to remove his left lung, and pulling his ribs out with his bare hands.

Arlo took his time tracing the design of the Ankh-like symbol with the tip of his sharp knife; it started on his fifth rib in the space where his arm would usually fall, and ended all the way down to his tenth rib. After slowly and carefully tracing it, he them proceeded with the painful process of "filling the insides" of the drawing; he switched the position of the knife with its edge facing down and started removing the large skin patch within.

Natsu tried to swallow the pain, but he was at his weakest point and feeling skin being pulled from his body while his senses were heightened was not something easy to handle; he clenched his jaw and his fists, which were still being held above his head. Fukuro invaded his mind again –at least I was quick when I ripped him from the wall- his thought didn't make him feel better.

By the time Arlo was done, Natsu had the council's bloody symbol carved on him, his blood was dripping from his left side drenching his white pants and tainting them red.

* * *

Lucy was looking at the map on the table listening to Levy when she felt a sharp pain at her side, which caused her to flinch; she took a deep breath, and got the scent of Natsu from the scarf she wrapped around her neck.

"Lu-chan, are you ok?"

"I am… I just… something feels wrong…"

"With the plan?"

"No, no… the plan is good. I have a weird feeling something is wrong with Natsu… it's silly right?"

"It's probably just your nerves Lu-chan"

Gajeel was carefully observing their interaction from a distance, since he came back he had kept away from Lucy; he knew she was forgiving, but was still mad at him, which he was ok with, after all he was mad at himself too.

He decided it was about time for him to suck it up and join the conversation; as soon as he got closer; Lucy looked at him and hissed through her teeth "I'm taking a break Levy, you got this covered right?"

Levy sighed and tilted her head "Of course…" She watched Lucy turn on her heel and head to the door without giving Gajeel a second glance.

"How long do you think it will take for her to get over it?"

"Stupid Gajeel… She doesn't blame you… she just needs somewhere to put her anger"

"I guess I'm the best choice then"

"Sadly yeah…Come here…" He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head while she nuzzled his chest. "It'll be ok, she is just nervous"

"Shrimp, I don't think that's it…"

Levy took her head away from his chest and looked at him with confusion "What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure how to explain it, but if she says there's something wrong with Natsu, then she is probably right"

"Am… ok… how?"

"It's hard to explain…you know how your magic is attached to your life, and you can feel it running in your veins"

"Sure"

"Ok well, when a dragon chooses a partner, even without knowing… his heart tangles its energy to that partner, but this only happens when that partner has chosen the dragon too, genuinely and at heart"

"So what does that mean?"

"It's a very strong bond, so if she has chosen Natsu as her partner at heart, this could mean she can sense him. I know for a fact Natsu loves her…"

"So, that would mean she loves him too, I mean I guess we all know it, but they've never talked about it or acted on it"

"Yeah… which is actually lucky"

"Ok you lost me again, why would it be lucky for them not to admit they love each other?"

"Not that shrimp… if they had solidified their bond then she could be at risk if something happened to him"

Levy was going to continue inquiring about Lucy and Natsu, but her head was now filled with more questions about her and Gajeel "So, were you ever planning to discuss this information with your girlfriend? Wait, actually we never really defined what we are" She blushed.

"Gee Shrimp…Was I supposed to discuss this before you decided to jump me?" He gave her a cocky smile. Levy puffed her cheeks and rolled her eyes in annoyance

"Well, I'M SO SORRY I assaulted your innocent self… stupid Gajeel"

He laughed and pulled her into a hug, she resisted, and punched his chest at first, but then she settled into it "We haven't gone as far as to put you in danger Shrimp, I'd never let that happen unless you are fully aware, and make the choice to be with me forever"

"So, does that mean that you have decided to be with me forever then?"

"Of course, we'll be whatever you want us to be shrimp… I…Love you, you know that"

"I love you too"

Gajeel was too into the moment, so, he didn't noticed the familiar scent of a new person entering the room "Aw that's very sweet Gajeel…Who would have known you were such a softy" Gray laughed so hard that he had to hold himself at the door.

"You are one to talk, since you know… you can't seem to close the door before your private make out sessions with rain woman"

"Dammit! MiraJane!"

Both mages bumped heads, and started arguing when Erza pulled them by the neck and bumped their heads together "Could you please focus on the task ahead of us?"

"Aye… we are sorry Erza"

"It's fine, Lucy and I have made contact with our allies. Most of them agreed with our plan, they'll support, but we can't expect them to fight. So, we are good to go for tomorrow and I'm expecting you to be on your BEST behavior, is that clear?" Gray and Gajeel nodded in agreement, this was no time to play around.

* * *

Laxus was outside of the inn smoking a cigar when Mira bumped into him. She looked at him and opened her mouth to say something, but then she looked away and continued walking forward.

"Where are you going MiraJane?"

"I needed some fresh air…"

Laxus scratched his chin with his index finger "Well t'is not a good time for you to go out by yourself".

They walked together to the main park; it was full of leafless trees since the winter season hadn't come to an end yet. There were a few kids running around wearing jackets and hats, laughing with their friends and enjoying their time.

Mira looked ahead and found a gorgeous white gazebo with gray colored roof; she went up the small steps and sat on the banister crossing her legs, while Laxus went to the other end and rested his back on one of the pillars.

"Do you remember when we were that young?" Mira was still observing the kids running around.

"It was so long ago Mira"

"Was it really? I still remember you cried about everything"

"I did not!"

"Of course you did" She laughed and covered her mouth with her hand, but soon her smile faded "I also remember you used to get sick a lot"

"Yeah… I remember that…"

"And then one day you were better, and you… changed" She shook her head and looked at him, "Look I'm sorry, I have no right to mess with your life choices ok? It's none of my business… I guess I just remember that kid fondly… the one that was sweet, and caring; but you're all grown up now"

"So, you liked me better when I was sick all the time MiraJane?"

"No… I liked you better when you were not trying to prove to everyone that you were better than them, and when your feelings were visible to the people that cared for you"

Laxus hissed through his teeth; there was something in those words that disturbed him deeply. Mira got off the banister and smiled at him, but the smile didn't reach her eyes "I've had enough air, I'm going back now" Laxus just nodded and walked next to her.

Right before they got inside he turned "Hey Mira… You changed too, you know?"

"So did you like "The Demon" better?"

"Nah… there's plenty to like now" He gave her a crooked smile, and she giggled before going back inside.

* * *

 

Arlo started walking around Natsu like a vulture, observing his work and thinking on how to improve it, the wound was still fresh and oozing blood, but not as much as before. He stopped behind Natsu and fisted his hair; he pushed his head so he was looking down before continuing with his bloody artwork. He pressed his knife to Natsu's back below his nape, which caused him to pull back, however with his body being suspended between ceiling and floor, he didn't have much space to run.

He could feel the knife cutting through his skin again, slowly digging into him. This continued for some time, although he wasn't sure how long it had been; Arlo had carved something below his nape.

"I think the words suits you… traitor"

"Yeah? Well, if I had ever decided to get some ink work done, I would have probably picked a better artist"

"You don't learn kid… keep the big mouth going, let's see how far it gets you. You are pathetic and weak" Natsu laughed in a painful way "If I fought back, you would be burned to a crisp already"

"Wow, big boy with big words...scary"

Natsu scrunched his nose and shook his head as the terrible stench from the cell block flooded his nostrils, it grew bigger making him shrug. He could smell his own blood and sweat along with the other few prisoners there, he could sense the smell of old dry blood, corpses, urine; everything that had been there for years, and it made his stomach clench.

"I can't think of what this place really smells like… You Dragon slayers have a pretty good sense of smell, don't you?"

Natsu was trying his best to contain himself but couldn't avoid barfing as all smells mixed together, and hit him as it they were inside his nose. He was doing his best to breathe through his mouth when suddenly, he started tasting those smells though his tongue "Yeah… not gonna work kid...did you know that taste and smell use the same type of receptors? Sucks, doesn't it?"

A second wave of dizziness hit him bad causing him to barf again. There was no way around it, he could smell and taste everything, and not breathing at all wasn't a choice.

Arlo kneeled behind him, and grabbed his leg to hold him before stabbing his lower back causing Natsu to arch in pain "Ups, sorry that was a bit too deep…" The scent of his own blood was overwhelming enough, but now he could also taste the metal blade on his skin as if it was in his mouth. He felt the pain again as Arlo carved a second word on him.

The dark stone cell had no light of its own, the only thing keeping visibility were a few lacrimas. Natsu could clearly see what came next when he started feeling the room filling with light. It wasn't really that the lacrimas were brighter, but he still felt the room shining more by the second to the point where he had to close his eyes to avoid the brightness.

Arlo laughed as he stood behind Natsu to force his eyelids open with his own fingers. With all his five senses heighten, it was hard for him to concentrate, his eyes just saw white everywhere. He could hear every single breath being taken, in the whole cell block, he could smell and taste the stench, and his skin felt like being burned by a painful and unforgiving flame.

Calm came when suddenly all his senses shut down, except for his hearing

"We are done for today, you did good kid, I thought you would have lost it by now. For now I will leave you alone with your thoughts" a small laugh made its way to Natsu's ears and then nothing… his hearing was gone too.

Although at first it felt as if it was the best of the bad options he soon realized being left alone with his thoughts was by far the worse punishment for him, and he found himself wishing Arlo would come back to torture him more.

His mind ran wild going over the latest events, Lucy, Fukuro, the incident at the manor, Gajeel; so many things, so many regrets. It soon became obvious that this calmness was torture, there was nothing to distract him from the thought, at least with the pain he was focused on something else.

It felt like he was floating away in the emptiness of a dark room, nothing to see, smell, hear, feel; his mind drifted further away, and he wondered to the darkest corners of his mind. The image of Igneel came to him, and he could hear his voice inside himself, it was a weird feeling since he knew his hearing didn't work but this sound didn't really come from the outside.

"Igneel… you are not here"

"But I'm always here"

"No, you are dead, I saw you die"

"I never said I wasn't dead"

"Then why are you here"

"You've given up. I felt the fire I left you extinguishing"

"There's no other way, this is something I have to do"

"So, you consider this sacrifice will fix what is broken?"

"Give me a break, don't be such a hypocrite… you shouldn't criticize my sacrifice to protect the people I love"

"I do understand, I did the ultimate sacrifice to protect you, and I would do it again; but look where it got us…"

"I have no other choice"

"My boy… there's always a choice"

"It's easy for you to say… you took the choice for both of us every single time. You decided to leave without saying a thing, you decided to leave me alone and clueless, and then you decided to come back to die!"

"And I'm sorry, but I did what I thought was best for you"

"And so did I… I did what I thought was best for my family"

"If there's something I can tell you it's that losing you, will never be best for your family"

"Igneel… What should I do?"

"You know what you have to do…"

The image of Igneel disappeared into nothing; it wasn't as waking up from a dream since he didn't know if he was awake or sleeping. He felt aware and conscious, but there was nothing to be aware of, nothing to feel but the deep pain that he had managed to lock inside him for so long. He really thought things would have been different for him if Igneel hadn't left, how he wished he had met Lucy. –He would have loved her…-

He drifted again for some time, although it was hard to say how long it was since it seemed the space in his mind was timeless. He saw Lucy, she was wearing her short blue skirt, and her white button shirt with the blue stripe across her chest; he heard her knee length boots clack on a floor he couldn't really see as she got closer.

When she was finally next to him, she sat down and rested her head on his shoulder letting her hair fall on his chest.

"You are not here Luce, but it's nice to see you"

"Why did you leave?"

"I had to…"

"No you didn't… you should have trusted us to stand by you"

Natsu turned causing Lucy to move from his shoulder "I do trust you!"

"You keep saying I'm so strong, but if that's true then why didn't you let me fight this with you?"

"I can't let anything happen to you… I Lo…" Lucy placed her finger to his mouth "Don't…" Natsu frowned; this seemed more real than before but he knew well his brain couldn't be trusted "You can't say that to me, not like this… Once you come back you can try again" Lucy smiled sweetly and cupped his cheek, then she rubbed her thumb against his face.

Natsu laid his hand on top of hers, he sighed "I ain't coming back Luce…"

"You will even if it costs me everything"

Natsu slapped her hand away just as he'd done before, outside of the guild "You can't put yourself in danger; I did this to stop you from getting hurt!" He shook his head and closed his eyes, "You are not here, you are not real! Stop messing with my head!"

Lucy pursed her lips and frowned; she grabbed both sides of his head before resting her forehead on his "Think what you want you idiot, I'm not letting you go…" He lifted his hands to hug her but she was already gone, and he was left alone in the darkness just as before, drifting in the endless and vast space of his mind.

* * *

Lucy woke up in the middle of the night startled by a dream she had –it seemed so real- she looked at her hand and could almost feel the warmth of his cheek on her palm. She nuzzled the white scarf around her neck, which she hadn't removed before going to bed.

She looked around the room, everyone had taken a little space to get some rest after discussing their plan for the next day; she started thinking on how lucky she was to have such incredible friends. When you feel near the end you usually think of the beginning; without Natsu she didn't know where she would be now; she remembered Hargeon, and how finding each other seemed as a lucky coincidence.

"Natsu…Hang in there…"

She heard movement somewhere in the room and soon a voice interrupted the silence.

"Trouble sleeping Bunny girl?"

"Oh… Gajeel; yeah…"

"Don't worry, we'll get him back"

"I know… it's just… I feel..."

"You feel him in pain, don't you?"

"How did you know that?"

"Look, the connection you two have with each other is something you can't deny… we all know it. For what it's worth, I am really sorry for not being able to bring him back; I couldn't allow Levy to stay the way she was… "

"I know… but you owe me, you understand that right?"

"I do, and I always pay my debt"

* * *

 

It was early in the morning and the council was filled with movement, all members had been called for the audience. A special room had been prepared, it was spacious and somewhat round, the seating reserved for the council members was on the back of the room in high placing wooden stands, and arranged in a semi-circle facing the witness stand, which was not going to be used for this audience.

There was a special square grid close, where Natsu will be seated as he gave out his "public" confession to the council; there were a couple rune mages working on the grid to make sure he stayed in place.

Shanna kept going over the runes and adding things to its sides to make sure it was strong enough, she hadn't met Natsu in person, and didn't know what to expect, but if he was anything like his guild mates, she expected trouble.

"Don't you think you are going a bit overboard Shanna?"

"Oh Dana, you say that because you don't know these creeps! Seriously they should all be locked up…"

"Sounds to me like you are just bitter because you couldn't break them… did they rough you up a little bit sunshine?"

"Oh shut up! You don't know what they are like… and I don't think you would have done much better"

"Ha! Of course I would have, sending you was a bad decision all around!"

They bumped their heads together, and kept arguing when one of the council members walked in and cleared his throat causing them to freeze.

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good, He'll be wearing cuffs, and Arlo has taken care of him diligently, so, I don't think he'll be a problem, but we can't risk it. I need those runes to be double-checked, do you understand? I need this room done in 20 minutes"

"Yes Sir!" Both girls responded in unison and continued with their job.

Soon enough both mages had finished and left the room. They went to a separate room down the hall to call the council members and escort them to their seats.

"Jailor… please bring the perpetrator to face the council"

"Yes Sir"

The jailor walked to the door on the back and left; he arrived to the stairs leading to the underground cells where they kept some "special" prisoners. There were other prisons, specially made for such purposes but only a few selected ones would be held in the underground council cells. He crossed the dark stone floor and stood in front of Natsu's cell facing Arlo.

"It's time…"

"What? I was just about to start"

"Not today man, I need to take him. Are you coming?"

"I guess I have to… he is a useless sack of potatoes as of now"

They removed the chain from his feet, then the one from his hands; Arlo grabbed his wrists and dragged him all the way back to the room where he would meet the council. Natsu didn't notice he moved to another place, his senses were gone, so, whatever movement, noise, or feeling, went undetected to him.

Once in the room, the Jailor sat Natsu up in a chair within the grid and chained him to it. Once he took a step back, Shanna and Dana activated the runes.

* * *

Natsu lost track of time, the darkness engulfed him in a deathly grip, and drowned him little by little. He never thought nothingness could be so soothing and so terrifying at the same time; he was still locked in his own mind but he saw a glimpse of light in what he considered was the far distance, although he didn't have a way of knowing how close or far it was.

He saw it flashed again, each time closer; it was a golden like a string, bright and warm calling out to him; he felt as if he was moving closer to it.

"Natsu!" When he came to his senses, he was pinning a badly injured Arlo to the floor, and felt her on his back hugging him by the waist.

"Natsu…"

He felt her tears falling of his shoulder, his left arm covered in crimson scales that shone with the light in the room. He released his grip on Arlo, and looked down to see a pair on small pale hands on his middle.

"Luce…"


	20. Treason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today is the day. Fairy tail puts their plan to rescue Natsu in motion, and Lucy sees more than what she was expecting. Their best shot comes in the form of a person who has caused more pain than what they really know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soon the story will become even more tangled an complicated, lots of more hurt on the way people *Bows in apology*
> 
> Additional Note: I will continue apologizing for the crappy summaries XD. Also Thanks to Nenley again for providing her super helpful Beta superpowers. 
> 
>  
> 
> Hope y'all had a good weekend!  
> -Ace-
> 
> Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
> 
> Martin Luther King, Jr.

Natsu lost track of time, the darkness engulfed him in a deathly grip, and drowned him little by little. He never thought nothingness could be so soothing and so terrifying at the same time; he was still locked in his own mind but he saw a glimpse of light in what he considered was the far distance, although he didn't have a way of knowing how close or far it was.

He saw it flashed again, each time closer; it was a golden like a string, bright and warm calling out to him; he felt as if he was moving closer to it.

"Natsu!" When he came to his senses, he was pinning a badly injured Arlo to the floor, and felt her on his back hugging him by the waist.

"Natsu…"

He felt her tears falling of his shoulder, his left arm covered in crimson scales that shone with the light in the room. He released his grip on Arlo, and looked down to see a pair on small pale hands on his middle.

"Luce…"

* * *

Their confusing encounter was soon interrupted by the loud voices of the council and the few remaining guards.

"What happened to the runes?!"

"He's a danger to Earthland! Did you see that?"

"We can't allow him to exist! He's a demon!"

Each voice more mortified than the last. Natsu couldn't grasp his mind on what had happened, he was more than confused and he felt his brain pulsating, but was still holding to Lucy's hands without facing her.

She removed her hands slowly grazing his skin, and took a step back; she looked at herself and noticed her blouse and arms were stained with blood, but she was unharmed. Her eyes immediately went to his back, which cause her to bite her lip while tears accumulated in the corners of her eyes. Below his nape the word "Traitor", on his lower back the word "Demon", and on his side the council's symbol.

She stretched her arm to touch his back, but before she could place her hands on him, she was pulled back with strength by one of the guards who placed a sword on her neck.

"Stand back demon!" She could feel the guard shaking, and this caused the sword to scrape her gentle skin; a single drop of blood dripped down her neck. An animal-like growl erupted from the Dragon Slayer's throat causing the windows to shatter immediately.

He finally turned around, and what she saw was not Natsu. His movements were calculated, he was hunched with his knees flexed, and a hand on the floor; she couldn't stop thinking about how this looked more like a natural hunter than her best friend.

"Oi! Salamander!" Gajeel ran towards him turning his arm into a metal log, but before he could make it close enough, Natsu turned his face towards him and the heat wave slammed Gajeel back.

The guard was shaking even more now, "I told you to stand back!" in a few seconds, more guards were surrounding him and pointing their guns his way. He stood up in a more human-like way and cracked his neck. Lucy recognized the danger, she could sense what he was about to do, for some reason she knew although she didn't know why.

"Listen! You all need to stand back! And you, let me go now! He won't attack you if you let go!"

"Like hell! He isn't human!"

She saw him moving his hands closer to his mouth "We don't have time! Let go!" the guard still didn't move. Lucy had no choice, she grabbed his arm with one hand and the sword with the other cutting her palms; she pushed her hips back pushing against the guard, which gave her enough space to escape his grip.

Gajeel watched in panic as Lucy ran directly against Natsu's Fire Dragon's roar with tears in her eyes. "Fuck, Natsu! Stop!" He watched as the fire stream engulfed the blond hair mage and he turned his face to avoid watching his friend being burned to a crisp… -This can't be happening…- It took all his strength he had to gather the courage to look up, but once he did, his mouth opened and he stood up to observe the scene.

There she was, unharmed, with her arms around his neck. Her clothes were a bit burned but aside from some redness on her skin, there was nothing wrong with her. Natsu's eyes were back to normal and his crimson scales faded little by little as he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You've got to stop Natsu… please…"

"I… " He couldn't find the words in his head; he tightened his grip on her waist and shed a few tears before pulling her away without looking at her "You've got to go Luce…" She watched him evading her eyes, he looked defeated and his sadness caused her heart to break a bit more.

He turned to face the council again; their eyes were opened in surprise looking back from the girl who survived the scorching fire to the mage who had caused it. Natsu took a deep breath before looking directly at them and pointing his finger "We have a deal, let them go" his eyes were still filled with fire as the unsaid threat lingered between him and the council.

"You expect us to hold our end of the deal? Do you have any idea of what they just did!?" He didn't, he really didn't; he remembered only his body standing above Arlo while he fisted his hands.

"I don't care what they did" He inspected his surroundings, trying not to lose his confidence and saw the rune grid was gone and his cuffs broken on the floor next to it.

"Well, you may not care, but that doesn't change the fact this is not only a crime but an act of treason against the council"

"They walk…"

"Are you not listening to…" Natsu's voice came out as a roar and the unsaid threat that lingered was now more visible "I SAID THEY WALK" silence took over for a few seconds, the energy surrounding him was enough to cause them to flinch, and even the few high mages from the council didn't dare to respond.

Lucy looked at the carving on his back again; she looked behind her, saw Gajeel, and noticed him nodding, they knew what they had to do. Her voice was firm, and taking a demanding tone more resembling of royalty than to a mage "You will hear us now, our side of this story"

"Child, there's nothing to hear. We've seen what we needed to see!"

"Council member I think you are confused, I'm not asking… "

"This is the last straw Fairy Tail! You dare to threaten the council over this demon! Would you follow him to hell then?"

"I would follow him anywhere; if this is the path he is taking then this is the one I'll follow"

The words stroke Natsu as a brick wall "No, you won't. This is my…" Lucy didn't turn his way and just interrupted "Oh shut up! Are you seriously going to tell me this is your choice and then disregard mine? No, you won't"

Gajeel stood up and laughed loudly before adding his thought "Our choice Bunny girl"

Natsu turned his face just enough to give the Iron Dragon Slayer a deadly look "Gajeel… you were supposed to keep her safe!"

"Meh… that's why I'm here, have you tried changing this girl's mind? You chose a tough one Salamander"

The council observed this interaction still baffled until one of them broke the silence "And if we refuse to listen?"

Lucy's eyes went back to the council; they could see fire in her eyes very similar to the ones of the Dragon slayer standing protectively on her side. "If you refuse, you will be held accountable for what you've done to him"

"Is that so?... and by whom? Do you really think a mage of your class could hold a candle to the council's power?"

That was the last straw; Lucy fisted her hands in anger and screamed with all the strength of her lungs "You will be held accountable by my hand, but just in case that's not enough I'll remind you no mage of Fairy Tail stands alone in battle!" While she screamed her body was surrounded by a golden light so powerful that most eyes had to avoid the brightness; but once they were able to look, they saw her surrounded by every single one of her spirits.

"This can't be… she can't do that…" The council had never witness a Celestial mage opening so many doors at once and that sent shivers down their spine. Natsu couldn't help but notice the sight; her spirits were standing behind her, arms crossed above their chests and daring the council with their eyes, just as she did.

She was panting a bit but her spirits didn't flinch "Loke…" He took a step towards her "Yes princess" She rolled her eyes "Go help Gajeel with the doors, please"

Natsu's eyes widened in surprise when he saw what waited behind the door.

* * *

*Events outside the council*

Lucy knew the audience was about to start, they were all waiting in the forest close enough to make it in time, but far enough not to be detected by the knights.

"Open! Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!"

The Maiden held her hand to her chest before greeting her master "Princess is it time for my punishment?"

"No, but this time we might be punishing some people after all, so hold on to that thought"

Virgo nodded seeming pleased with her answer "What can I do for you today princess?"

"Virgo, I need you to get me and Gajeel inside that building, it probably has some magic barriers. First, I need you to locate the room where they have Natsu. Would that be a problem?"

"No princess, but I may have to consume more energy in order to get past the barriers if they are underground as well. Will that be all?"

"For now, yes"

In one move, Virgo disappeared into the ground. Lucy took a deep breath before facing her friends "OK! It's a go; everyone knows what to do now?" The entire group raised their hands up and roared with a mix of fear and excitement.

Lucy turned to Erza who looked highly motivated "Hey, have you seen the master?"

"He said there was one last thing he had to do, but that we should move forward with the plan"

Lucy nodded, she kind of expected for the master to provide some words of encouragement to motivate the rest, however her concerns were washed away by the words of her redheaded friend.

"This is the last opportunity you have to turn your back and leave! We stand together as a family. Once we start we will be treated as enemies of the council, and the only thing we will have is each other"

Laxus smirked at her and looked around to see the faces of his friends, "Having each other is plenty, we will face what's to come together!" a second roar erupted. He felt a hand touching his fingers "Now that's more like the boy I remember" Mira looked at him blushing a bit before he held her hand completely entwining their fingers.

Virgo's head suddenly popped from the ground. "Princess, I've located him in the first room after the council's entrance" Lucy fisted her hand against her palm "Let's show them who Fairy Tail is!".

Lucy and Gajeel followed Virgo underground until the end of the tunnel, while their friends erupted in a roar and ran towards the council's building starting fights with the guards all over the place. The knights were impressive, but they couldn't compare to the best guild in Fiore, and soon they faced defeat.

"Virgo are we close?"

"Yes Princess, we now just need to go up. Are you ready?"

"Never been more ready for something in my life" Virgo took a jump and broke the upper part of the tunnel; after the dust settled, Gajeel, Lucy and Virgo were left standing in front of the council who kept coughing the dust out of their lungs.

"What is the meaning of this!?" There were only a few guards covering the council in a protective stance.

Lucy turned and saw Natsu siting on a chair, unmoving, eyes grayed out, and stare settled on the floor "What did you do to him!?"

"We have no need to answer to you! Guards!" The council was waiting but the front door kept still

"Guards!"

Lucy rested her hands on her hips and switched her weight "That's not going to work" She got closer now still trying to get his attention "Natsu! Hey! Natsu!"

"Scream all you want, he won't be able to get out of there!" Arlo laughed at her "I thought he was naive, but you definitely win"

Gajeel looked at Arlo and crossed his arms above his chest "Oi! Asshole! If Salamander wanted to get out of there he could easily break out"

"Even if he could, he's not able to move from the prison I made for him" He smiled confidently, he knew Natsu was so deep within himself that even he was going to struggle to bring him back.

Arlo turned his eyes at Lucy and smirked, she suddenly shook her head feeling a minor annoyance, which quickly escalated until she was kneeling on the ground covering her ears.

"Hey Bunny Girl, you ok?!" She didn't say a thing; she kept covering her ears and whimpering. "Hey Natsu! Either you come out of that shit or they are taking Bunny girl out for good!" Lucy suddenly released a painful shriek of pain that resonated in the council's chamber.

In the blink of an eye Natsu pulled his hands apart breaking the magic cuffs, and threw himself into the runes engulfed by a fire hotter than what had been seen before; he shifted his weight and launched himself to their direction while his body started covering with scales and the hint of a wing started appearing on his back.

It was almost as if everything moved in slow motion, right before Arlo could react, Natsu grabbed his face with his claw and pushed so hard that Arlo almost broke the floor. When he tried to look up, he could only see from between Natsu's fingers, and the eyes that met him were not Natsu's anymore. His eyes were red now with a mix of black on the outside, emotionless and deep.

Natsu pinned him to the floor with only his right arm, and an almost animal growl left his mouth. He raised his right fist and slammed it against Arlo's face, then he did the same with his left before switching back, this motion was repeated several times. After a few good punches he raised his left scaly arm, feeling nothing but hate, and disgust for the man in front of him; he wanted him dead, all of them dead. He prepared his claws to rip him apart only to stop at the feeling of Lucy's arms wrapping around him from behind.

"Natsu!" The sudden familiar touch snapped him out of his feral state.

"What…"

* * *

Natsu saw Laxus and Erza entering the room, followed by the Rainjishuu, next to Gray and Juvia, then the Strauss siblings along with Shadow Gear and so on, everyone was there.

"What…"

Last but not least, a group of tree flying exceeds entered the chamber, Happy detached from the group and flew directly to Natsu's chest hugging him tightly "Natsu!" He couldn't help himself and he patted his head "Hey little buddy… what are you doing here?"

"Stupid Natsu… you promised you would never leave me!" More tears fell from his eyes and he pressed his face to the mage's chest.

Natsu couldn't help but to go back to his dream, in which all his friends hated him, and Makarov regretted making him part of his family, his eyes widen when Erza's voice made the room tremble.

"As I'm sure Lucy already mentioned, we are here to be listened to"

"Have you kids gone mad? Your Master would be ashamed of you!"

A deep and confident voice made its way to the council while every single Fairy Tail mage made space for Master Makarov to walk through; he was accompanied by a tall redheaded woman, with curly hair and olive eyes, and more than a few bandages on her body.

"I would be mad if I allowed you to hurt any of my children! I think we've already established the length we are willing to go to get the boy back home"

Natsu gasped as soon as he heard his voice "Gramps…" he tried to hold his tears and avoided the stares of his friends; he couldn't allow himself to hope; he looked at Happy and allowed himself to hug him back tightly before whispering to him "I need you to go with Lucy now, ok?"

"I don't wanna…" Natsu couldn't help but smile a bit "Come on… you can't stay here with me, and I need you to look after her"

"We are supposed to look after her together Natsu... "

"Just go with her… please… don't make this harder for me" Happy looked at his best friend's face and saw the pain in his eyes while both tried to hold their tears "Aye… but only until you come back" He flew away and landed on the blonde's arms, sobbing while she caressed his head.

"You are risking everything you've worked for Makarov, Mavis' Legacy, your legacy; he tortured and killed someone, how can you defend him?"

"I've raised all of these children, and I know what's truly in their hearts. As I told your inquisitor" He looked at Shanna for a second "I trust my children's judgment" Shanna almost felt the look piercing through her, she took a step back knowing there wasn't a battle to fight when it came to Makarov.

A second councilmember raised his voice "This… this demon" The council member pointed at Natsu directly "signed a binding contract! No trial will be held! We have no need to listen to your excuses!"

Levy made her way to the front of the council holding an enormous book, its cover was made of black leather and it had an inscription on the front that read "Magical council: Rules and regulations"

"We are actually moving to declare that contract void"

"Ms. McGarden, I'm sad to see you here, you've been of great service to the council and you should know that's not possible, unless…"

"Unless they have the support of the major guilds in Fiore" the voice came from behind the door. Soon enough the next caravan of guild members appeared in front of the council. Sting, and Rogue followed by Minerva and Yukino from Sabretooth; Master Bob and Ichiya followed by Hibiki, Ren, and Eve from Blue Pegasus; Goldmine followed by Bacchus, War Cry, and Rocker from Quatro Cerberus; Ooba followed by Jura, Lyon, Sherria, and Sherry from Lamia Scale, and lastly Kagura and Milliana from Mermaid Heel.

"You have all lost your minds! This is outrageous! Why would you be defending this… this demon!"

Gildarts started walking to the front of the line; the energy emerging from him was enough to make the ground shake from fear; this was noticeable by the faces of the councilmembers.

"This "demon" has had his life on the line on countless occasions for Fiore, if it wasn't for him many of the present here would be long gone, so I ask you to tone yourself down a bit" Gildarts gave the councilmembers a look that was sure to cause nightmares.

The highest chair from the council stood up and stared down at them, his own magical energy resonating against Gildarts', causing some electricity to crack through the air.

"Under what grounds would you consider this contact void?"

Levy then opened the book to the page she had marked "Under the strict Fiore law, in case of the council being tainted or holding personal interest in a case then the case would be revised and any deal or contract would be void"

"Ms. McGarden those are serious accusations" Levy looked at Natsu's back for a second before flinching "Well if that wasn't enough, I'm sure there's also something there about torturing prisoners prior to their trial or hearing… I could look for the specific paragraph if you prefer…"

The man sighed in defeat "Very well then… We will listen to what you have to say, but the final decision will still come from the council, and this little act of you will not be free of repercussions. Mr. Dragneel, please go back to your seat"

"OI! I'm not agreeing to any of this!" He pointed at several groups standing on the room "You! You!" then he pointed at Lucy "AND ESPECIALLY YOU! Get out!"

Sting took a step forward, as master of his guild he had a saying just as any of the others "This isn't up to you Natsu; the guilds have majority and have challenged the council's authority and their ability to judge your case; sorry man but you'll have to suck it up"

Natsu growled, he wasn't happy about this but burning the room down wouldn't help any of them, so he went back to his seat. He wasn't put in cuffs anymore nor did they reinforced the rune grid since it was now obvious if he was still there it was of his own accord, and if for some reason he wanted to leave, not a soul there would be able to stop him.

When he walked passed Lucy she stared at his back once again; the red wounds still fresh from the carving on his skin. Her heart shivered in pain from thinking what he had endured not only during the last few days, but starting months ago –I'll take you home, whatever the cost...I said you could try to tell me again once you were home- Despite that being an internal comment she clearly saw Natsu glance at her in confusion as he looked directly at her for the first time.

Sting then turned to Rogue and whispered, "I thought he would put more of a fight…"

"I agree, he's acting… unlike Natsu…"

They've forgotten that the other Dragon slayers also had excellent hearing and soon they were joined by Gajeel "He's broken… he is acting unlike Natsu, because he ain't himself right now"

Gajeel could almost feel Natsu's stare burning a hole behind his head, and once he turned to look at him he noticed he wasn't wrong; Natsu barely mumbled although he was sure the Iron Dragon Slayer would hear "I'm going to make you regret this…"

He smirked and spoke back softly "Well, let's hope you have the opportunity to make that happen"

Lucy's spirits had returned to the celestial realm, little by little, although Loke remained using his own energy. Lucy frowned when she saw Merryl standing next to the master holding a piece of cloth under her arm -Who the hell is that?-

She was startled when she heard something other than herself - I can't let them take her… she should have escaped - She looked back at Natsu thinking if this was actually him, he was referring to her, however, once she saw him looking at the girl next to Makarov, her brow raised and twitched.

"Ms. Heartfilia… You said we would be held accountable, you said you would follow his path… I wonder what would that mean when he is found guilty?" The tall mage sitting on the highest chair leaned on the table and rested his face on his hand while giving her a quizzical look.

Lucy gulped and stared back at him, she could feel all eyes from every guild in Fiore looking at her; no one had dared to ask her that question and she was sure they wouldn't like the answer "I'm sure we will walk out of here together councilmember, one way or the other…"

"As Friend or foe?..."

"If that's the way it has to be...so be it"

The room became so silent that everyone could hear the breeze going through the broken windows; this was only interrupted by the sound of wings when Happy jumped out of Lucy's arms fisting his paw and landing a punch in the air "Aye Sir! We won't leave without him!" this caused Natsu's lips to curl a bit, he was still worried for them, but just the sight of his friends there at least for one last time made him feel more peaceful.

Suddenly he looked at his palms and felt panic invading him -If that happens I'll have to end things myself before she does something stupid - His train of thought was interrupted by a very angry blonde woman pointing at him with shaky hands "NATSU DRAGNEEL DON'T YOU DARE! I swear I'll bring you back to the land of the living to kick your ass all the way back to eternity!" Everyone looked at her not understanding what just had happened.

The only one that seemed to understand was Gajeel who laughed quietly on the back. "What the hell…" Natsu being as dense as he was, hadn't really connected the dots and was just staring as he rubbed his head. Happy simply frown and raised his paws "Oh Man, I think she really lost her mind now" Lucy pulled at his tail "Shut up you stupid cat! I'll pull your tail off!"

"Help! Lucy is trying to eat me!"

The highest councilman cleared his throat "You have one chance Ms. Heartfilia… make it count. We don't have much time, so please… do this quickly"

Lucy sat on the witness stand that was not supposed to be used for this audience and tried to explain.

"I visited Fukuro Tatsuma at the end of September, and was held there against my will until December 31st when the incident happened"

"You showed an incredible amount of power earlier today, how could we believe you were held against your will?"

"He had power over me… he could touch someone and make their worst fears come true, this mark also stopped me from using my magic"

Another council member, one of the two that had spoken to Natsu first raised his voice, "This is ridiculous, the Tatsuma family didn't have any magic"

"They did! An ancient one, a dark and horrible one!"

The highest council member raised his hand to stop his colleagues from interrupting her "Fine, so you couldn't use your powers, what was stopping you from leaving and asking for help?"

"My nightmares… I couldn't allow them to become real…"

"I'll need a bit more than that Ms. Heartfilia"

She took a deep breath, looked at Natsu and then back at the council "In my dream… the city was covered by dark clouds, all of my friends were dead… Natsu promised to keep me safe and left to fight whatever was behind the darkness, and then… he never came back; I was left with nothing but his bloody scarf"

Natsu looked at her with pain in his eyes; Fukuro was using his fear to push him away from her, and hers to keep her prisoner, and at the end, she still ended up with his scarf around her neck, which now was stained with the blood from his back.

"Why would he go to so much trouble for you? Your family name fell and you don't have a penny to your name"

Lucy blushed and cleared her throat "He said...I am… he said he needed a celestial wizard to pass on his powers, he needed me to give him a son to pass his mark and continue his legacy"

This was interrupted by another one of the members that had received Natsu first "You expect us to believe that such a high member of society with no bonds to dark magic known to the council, held you hostage, and still decided to have a traditional wedding just so he could have sex with you and get a son? You should get this woman's head checked"

That was clearly a mistake; everyone noticed how the temperature of the room started to rise while a low growl came from the back of Natsu's throat; it suddenly stopped when he heard her in his head -Look at me… it's ok" - He looked up and she was giving him that smile that was meant just for him, he clenched his fists and the room started getting cooler immediately.

"He did it because I asked him to; he wanted me to choose to stay and once I didn't he gave me the mark. So, I told him I would stay willingly, and give him a son if we did it my way"

"How convenient…" That small horrible man that greeted Natsu the first day rolled his eyes and waved his hand.

"May we see the mark then?" Lucy froze immediately, for everything she and her friends knew, they had no proof of Fukuro being involved with magic, the house had burned down, and there was nothing left.

The councilman noticed her nervousness and smirked "So, you have nothing and expect us to believe your story because of the goodness in our hearts?" Lucy felt her skin tingling, the color left her face and she felt fear take over her, until a sudden outburst from behind took her out of her fear.

"Of course we wouldn't believe in the goodness of your heart… councilmen" The redhead that Lucy had wondered about made her way to the stand; she could see the councilman flinching at her presence. The highest councilman then intervened "And who are you, dear?"

She tilted her head and smiled; she pressed her hand to her chest and exaggeratedly bowed "Merryl Marlone your excellence" she looked up without losing position, and Lucy could see the crooked smile on her face -oh, so this is the floozy - Lucy couldn't help to frown at her presence.

The still afraid councilman interrupted "This woman has no reason to be here, she is not a mage at all and has no business talking to the council"

Merryl regained her position and laughed loudly, "Oh, but I did grow up in the manor, worked for Fukuro Tatsuma, along with…" this time it was Natsu who interrupted "I agree she has no business being here, go away Merr". Lucy's brow was twitching more every time -OH so she has a cute name now… Well, at least I didn't have to throw myself at him to get mine - she crossed her arms against her chest. Natsu was now sure he had lost his mind, there was no way he heard her say that.

Merryl looked at the council before continuing "along with doing his dirty work and sharing his bed" Lucy could see Natsu wrinkling his nose and looking away and she could hear the thought that crossed his mind - What the fuck are you doing… you need to leave before they throw your ass in jail… -

Lucy wasn't sure if to feel calm knowing she had something to say, or upset about Natsu being protective over her.

"Then I assume you have a particularly good insight about this situation, I'll allow for you to remain Ms. Marlone" Those words cause the two councilman that had been arguing the most to flinch.

Lucy's head felt dizzy, she could see something invading her mind, something like a memory but it wasn't hers, she turned and saw Natsu resting his elbows on his knees holding his head with both hands and she allowed to drift away in the images flooding her mind.

_"Yeah, you are aware of what happens with wizards that go rogue, correct? You won't be able to go home. Natsu… you'll be an easy target for him unless you kill or hide your humanity… you don't know if you'll have the strength to pull yourself back"_

_"What do you suggest?"_

_"Practice makes perfect… I'm equally responsible for this, so, start with me"_

_"Are you fucking mad?"_

_"You should know the answer to that by now"_

_"Get the fuck away Merryl, I'm not playing this game with you"_

_"Well, you know who's playing the game pretty well? Fukuro… he is probably playing so well her smell is already covering his sheets"_

_"Shut up…"_

_"Who knows, if she likes a monster like you, she is so sick that she probably enjoys being the victim in all of this. Maybe she's letting him rough her up a little bit; I know exactly what he likes… I can see her frail skin bruised and her broken soul crawling back to him over and over to save your sorry ass"_

_"Shut up!"_

_"Do you feel guilty? That he is using you to get into her pants? I knew exactly what he was going to do you know? I basically handed her to him on a golden platter. I know exactly how he'll pin her down and..."_

_A growl erupted from deep inside him and in the blink of an eye, he slammed her against the floor. He looked far from human now, and stood up just to pierce her ankle with his claws before pulling her up by her foot and slamming her again; the sound of cracking bones was so similar to a thick branch breaking and it made way for Merryl's painful cry._

_"It's not enough; you are all going to pay… I'm going to make you pay"_

_"She is paying for us already! She'll pay for all eternity until she is useless and used! And their offspring will be old enough to scare her to death just as Fukuro did to his parents!"_

_With one jump, Natsu landed above her, pinning her to the ground and landed his hot open claw on her stomach causing her to shriek just before he let his claws pierce her skin; he pulled his claws down causing deep cuts on her stomach. She looked at him and his eyes were not his, not confused, not childish but dark and deep. He was growling and his teeth looked like the ones of an actual demon, long and sharp._

_"That anger you feel…" Merryl started letting the tears drip down her face "don't let it go until he is cold and dead, if you let go of it before it happens… you won't be able to do it Lizard…"_

_Natsu was out of his mind with anger, and his blood was boiling. Merryl had given him all he needed; he grabbed her by the neck and raised her from the floor just to throw her against the trees._

_Natsu was now kneeling, both hands on the floor, panting. He started punching the ground so hard, the earth trembled at his touch, and then suddenly he stopped. He stood up, patted his clothes in the most common way possible and started walking._

_"Wait!" She could barely stand but managed to get close enough to grab his leg, "Just end this! What are you waiting for?!"_

_He turned her way "Do you think I am as merciful as to just finish you off? You may be useless now, but you don't deserve mercy" he looked at her with a crooked grin before he kicked her out of the way and left. Before he was able to leave, he heard her weak voice._

_"Don't go around breaking promises Natsu! You said you'd kill him! Where are you going?!"_

_He didn't turn around before responding "I'm going to get him away from her… if removing his mark doesn't work then I'll take him out of there and finish him elsewhere… You can go visit his grave below the highest peak at the Phoenix Mountains; I'll leave something behind so you can recognize the place… if you live"_

Lucy snapped out of it and stared at Natsu who was now covering his eyes with his hands. He listened to Merryl tell her story with full detail; she hadn't heard much of what she was saying since she was lost in her thoughts, well… his thought really, memories of him breaking the redhead's body and she suddenly understood why he didn't want her there; she had done horrible things, but then again so did he.

"So, that's how I ended up in Fairy Tail...he had ordered me to get Natsu away long enough to convince Lucy to go to the manor and he had a plan to make her stay; he hoped for her to do it willingly, but had his backup plan just in case she figured out his plans"

"Ms. Marlone… and what does that have to do with Mr. Dragneel torturing and killing Mr. Tatsuma?"

"That's simple… It was the only way to make things go back. So, I'm sure if you find your records you'll find the information of the death of his parents, the only way to take things back… well the ones that could be taken back… was to scare him to death since the root of his power was fear itself. Let me ask you… when you uncovered Fukuro's body… did he look dry and old like a mummy?"

The council looked at each other, that information hadn't been revealed before, so there was no way for her to know "That's exactly how it happens, his power is drained completely and they wither"

The highest councilmember looked at her "I know the magic you refer to, it is in fact old and dark… but it was also exterminated too, long ago, the body was carefully examined and we didn't find trail of this magic"

"Wow what a surprise!" Her tone was sarcastic and daring "The skin was probably so dry that you didn't even notice the missing skin did you?"

"The missing… there was one laceration to the skin but we…" she laughed again and grabbed with both hands a purple cloth she was holding underneath her arm "I come bearing gifts my lord!" she let the cloth unroll; the council's gasp was noticeable, but no one else could see what she was holding.

"Where did you get that!" One of the scared and pitiful councilman had slammed his hands against the table looking at her with anger. What she was holding was indeed the missing skin patch that still had the mark of the owl, although it looked like a piece of leather now thanks to Natsu's heat.

"Flame over here left it behind for me to know where he would be buried, he probably forgot about it when he decided to surrender"

"That changes nothing! That just makes you an accomplice"

"Indeed I am!"

Everyone stayed silent at her declaration "I was the one who placed the job requests at his command, the first, where he got to touch Natsu Dragneel, and the second, when he got ahold of a Lucy Heartfilia! And I also took a role in keeping him at bay long enough for him to take her and oh so much more!" she laughed again as if it was nothing.

Lucy stood up and fisted her hands before punching the redheads face causing her to fall on her behind "WHY?!"

Merryl rubbed her cheek "You have a mean hook girl…" she sighed crossing her legs while still on the floor "Why else? I had the mark, my brother and mother were all I had; I did his bidding to protect them, but I failed… he took her in front of you, did you forget?"

"Alicia…" How could she have not seen it, the same olive eyes, the shape of their face; their character was completely different of course, it was clear to Lucy that Merryl had lost her marbles long ago.

"Oh, since we are talking 'bout Why! I forgot to mention that the sudden devilish outbursts of the Dragon Slayer in question were directly the asshole's fault"

"Meaning?"

Makarov got closer to the stand and cleared his throat "Council… since we discovered Natsu's relationship with Zeref and how he and the other slayers came to live in this time, we've been clear about the root of his power. You are aware that aside from being a Dragon Slayer he was also brought back by his brother as a demon from one of his books"

"Makarov… we are aware of his nature, which is why we are concerned about this"

"That is not his nature; his nature is kind and loyal just as any of the other members. Fukuro had a lot of power, but even then he wouldn't be able to kill a demon" Makarov looked at the council and took a deep breath "While using his power he was trying to weaken him until death, something that was successful, but not the way he expected it. While he succeeded in weakening his human side little by little, he never thought this would leave the demon alive"

"The more reason to be concerned, since you are claiming that what we see before us is nothing but demon"

"Don't underestimate my children… while he did weaken him almost to the point of dying, he was not able to complete this, and do you think he would have willingly surrendered himself to you? Do you think you would still be alive if he was all demon! He could have easily gotten rid of the guard, the runes, and the cuffs since the start!"

The council remained in silence before Merryl interrupted again, "Not only that, we consider the council unfit for ruling"

"I beg your pardon!"

"You know… since some members of the council directly benefited from the magic in question…"

"You are walking in dangerous ground child!"

"Come on… ask them…"

Freed was the one to speak now "I've made sure to surround the place with runes… better than the ones your inquisitors use"

The highest councilman looked at his colleagues before sighing "Very well, we can't refuse since the guilds have majority" he had barely finished speaking when the same two councilmen that had been shaking since the start, got off their chairs looking for the exit, only to be faced with Laxus and Gajeel's fists.

"OI! Where do you think you are going little piece of shit!" Gajeel was holding one of the members by the neck of the shirt, while Laxus had the other one by the belt of his rope.

The rest of the council murmured and shook their heads, this kept going until the highest councilman sighed and spoke up "In light of current events we need time to consider this situation… Jailor take Mr. Dragneel back to his cell"

"No!" Lucy walked towards Natsu with determination, "You can't take him away, I won't let you" she stood in front of him facing the council, and moved her hand to her keys. The sudden feeling of Natsu grabbing her by her hips and resting his face on the spot where her shoulder met her neck startled her. He allowed himself to take a deep breath to take in her essence.

"Vanilla... "she froze, just when she was about to reach for his hands he whispered to her ear "I'm sorry Luce…" He got ahold of her keys and pushed her away before throwing them to Gajeel "I'm collecting my favor lightning rod" Gajeel gulped but nodded.

"What the hell! Gajeel give me my keys!"

No can do Bunny girl"

"You owe me!"

He looked down, then at Levy and finally back at Lucy "I owe him more"

Natsu turned his back at everyone, and while leaving, he raised his right hand with his index and thumb up, making a signal they knew well - remember Luce… no matter where you are or if our paths are different… I'll always be looking at your side… so don't fail -


	21. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fairy tail men get into DEEP trouble with their female counterparts after a conversation about their "manly dutty" to protect them, this only led to complete humiliation, for one more than the others. The council leader decides to negotiate with Natsu in exchange of a favor he can't really refuse.
> 
> P.S I still hate writing summaries XD this note will remain in every single chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *BOWS IN APOLOGY* I was out celebrating a friend's bday in an impromptu pool party :3 ok! so, thanks to all the people who is now reading the story! and again thanks to Nenley for her amazing Beta work!
> 
> -Ace-
> 
>  
> 
> There may be a great fire in our hearts, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke.
> 
> \- Vincent Van Gogh -

Natsu turned his back at everyone, and while leaving, he raised his right hand with his index and thumb up, making a signal they knew well - remember Luce… no matter where you are or if our paths are different… I'll always be looking at your side… so don't be failing -

Lucy looked at Natsu walking away from her again, a mix of anger, sadness, and loneliness that she had never experienced before invaded her. This was somehow worse than when her father treated her as property, worse than before joining the guild.

She turned back to stare at Gajeel, he couldn't look her in the eye; Lucy balled her hands and looked down, she was panting and her face was red from anger; she pulled her hand back to gain speed and slapped Gajeel across the face with such strength that she was sure some of her own bones broke.

"GIVE ME BACK MY KEYS!"

He rubbed his face amazed on how strong the blonde girl had become over the years, but he didn't budge "No"

"Gajeel…Now…" Gajeel took a deep breath and shook his head "No can do bunny girl"

"You said this was our choice! You fucking hypocrite! If this was Levy, tell me Gajeel! What would you do?"

"Tsk… I know what I would do… But that's not the same, if it was me in there and Levy out here, I would have asked him to do the same, and I would expect for him to do it"

Lucy was beyond mad, but the adrenaline was fading, and she could finally feel the pain in her hand from slapping Gajeel. Levy stood beside her and hugged her tightly giving Gajeel an angry look, which let him know he would pay for this several times over.

Master Makarov walked to his children and stared at their baffled faced; this hadn't gone bad, but it wasn't as they expected it to go "Wendy, could you please take a look at Lucy's hand?"

The young dragon slayer nodded and walked to a sobbing, and devastated Lucy to fix her hand while Makarov continued "The council will need time to review this new information, Ms. Marlone has offered to stay and answer their questions in private while they inspect the evidence she brought along. So, for now, we will retreat to the Inn and await for answers"

The guild members started walking away while whispering about the situation, and the sudden angry display from their guild members; everyone left except for Wendy, Lucy, Levy, and Gajeel. He extended his hand to where the girls were, hoping to help, but he was met with Lucy's evil stare before she slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch me…" She sighed, "One thing was for him to run away from you, I get that… It wasn't something you could control… but this? "

"Look... I owe him, and big time"

"Oh I see… so you owe him and that's why you are willing to watch him go kamikaze? Mavis! You are such a hypocrite! If it was me in there you would be encouraging him to blast the fucking building up!"

"Because it's not the same!"

"Wow Gajeel… so, it's perfectly fine to let him risk his life for all of us, but not for us to do the same? I thought Igneel and Metalicana had shown you loyalty, apparently Dragons are not as loyal as I thought…"

"You don't know what you are talking about!"

"Right… I'm the one who doesn't know…" Lucy walked passed him and stormed out of the building. Gajeel was balling his fists when he noticed both Levy and Wendy giving him the dirty eye.

"What!?"

"Gajeel… seriously… you can be such a dick sometimes…"

"Woah, so, I'm the asshole here?!" he turned to Wendy hoping for a little back up, of course the young Dragon Slayer would know better, after all she had been raised by a Dragon herself, however, he found the young, innocent, and sweet teenager looking at him with anger "Yeah! You are… what she said!"

"I… what… wait... WHAT THE HELL?!"

Levy and Wendy walked away leaving him even more confused than before, he turned on his heels, hands in his pockets, and hunching his back, mumbling about how he would never understand the crazy women from his guild along with something that sounded "You should come with a fucking manual"

He walked back to the inn still mumbling and kicking every single pebble on the way, and directed himself to the restaurant where he knew most of them would be; he noticed two bluenettes and a blonde missing from the table.

He grabbed a chair and turned it backwards to rest his arms and chin on the back of it, not caring much about the conversation until Cana sat next to him.

"Why the long face metal head?"

"None of your damn business drunkard…"

"Would it have to do with a tiny pretty looking genius not joining us for lunch?"

He huffed and turned his face sideways to avoid Cana's question "Well that answers my question. SO! What did you do?" by this point, people had started paying attention to their conversation since Cana was a bit loud.

"What did I DO? She's the one being unreasonable! I did nothing wrong…"

"Sure… ok then what happened?"

"She is fucking mad because I backed Natsu up, and Blondie called me a hypocrite" This last comment caught Mira's attention "Why would she call you that?"

"Because if it was her, I would tell Salamander to burn that place to the ground! Can you believe her?"

The girls looked at each other and Gajeel caught a glimpse of something dangerous, which he decided to ignore; Mira cleared her throat "So… what did you tell her?"

"What do you mean? If it were Levy in there, I would leave nothing but dust! It's not the same" The girls were shocked by this statement, but before they had finished processing the information, the boys added their two cents.

"Of course it's not the same, they are being ridiculous" Gray simply crossed his arms above his chest, and huffed in annoyance.

"Yeah! He's being a man! So is Natsu!" Elfman missed to notice Evergreen's eye twitch.

Laxus listened carefully, he was probably the only one aware of how things were about to explode so he simply nodded and stayed silent, "What are you nodding about Laxus?!" Mira's dark aura made everyone go silent.

"Ahem… I agree in general"

"With…?"

He knew this was an unavoidable train wreck, and he was not about to let Mira make him look weak "With them, obviously we would all do the same that Natsu and Gajeel did, and you should understand that we are responsible for protecting you. Levy and Lucy ARE being ridiculous and there's no argument about that"

Mira gave him a serious look and turned to Gajeel "You did take her keys, and I assume you haven't given them back, have you?"

"It's for her own damn good! Salamander asked me to"

"Juvia thinks you should give them back, Lucy has all the right to make her own choices"

"Come on Rain-woman! Not you too… She wants her keys back to go on some crazy suicide mission"

"Maybe, but Juvia thinks that's exactly what Natsu did; the difference is Lucy is not doing it alone, and she WAS trusting us to help"

Evergreen's eye was still twitching, she crossed her legs and gave Elfman a cold stare "SO… the manly thing to do is to take a girl's possessions to force her to do as you expect?" Elfman open and closed his mouth a bit, but wasn't able to answer.

Bickslow started laughing maniacally "Guys you seriously fucked up! These girls don't need protection, and Natsu is completely capable of fending for himself"

"Oh, so I guess that's why you almost attacked the damn inquisitor; after all Lisanna and Natsu don't need protection, right?" Laxus was smirking at his friend, he didn't find pleasure on affecting his team members but he wasn't gonna let him out of trouble so easily, nor was he planning on going down by himself.

"What!?" Lisanna slammed her hand on the table and changed into her cat form, scratching the table in the process.

"YO! You are getting this all wrong; we are all doing what's best to protect Lucy, as we should. After all what kind of men would we be if…" Juvia stood up and turned to Gray; she poked his chest with strength, right above his heart where she would usually draw a cross with her fingers to let him know he was making a mistake "So, Gray-Sama thinks that Juvia isn't capable of protecting him?"

He rubbed his chest and widen his eyes "Wait, what! No I didn't say that!" (Much too late Gray… ). At this point Erza was now up and drawing her sword "You have all accepted that the responsibility of carrying our weak selves to safety, lands on you? Is that correct?" Gray lifted his hands and gulped "Erza, of course I didn't mean you! You could probably rescue half of us!"

"OH! So Erza could but I can't?"

This didn't end well for the guys; comments went from "Get off your fucking high horse" to "Is that because you don't consider me as much a Lady as them?". By the end of the argument, the boys had their feet so deep in their mouths that there was no way to untangle the mess, leaving them with a few scratches, bruises, and with no female company.

Gray was holding some ice to his head with his right hand, and a whiskey on his left "What the hell just happened?"

Happy was still snickering on the support beams above their heads, Carla sitting next to him with her nose up, and Lily crossing his arms above "Well there was no way to help them out of that one"

"Oi Cat! You've got something to say?"

Carla flew down and landed on the table gracefully "As a matter of fact I do. I'm impressed even that tomcat was able to recognize your mistake…"

"Aye!" Happy and Lily had joined Carla on the table "You guys are so dumb! You practically told them that this was something you could do but they can't; you never ever tell a girl that!"

"Happy is right, although I can't believe I'm agreeing with him" Gajeel gave Lily an evil stare and crossed his arms.

"If I may add, you also took away their choice, gentlemen… This is a life threatening risk you would take for them, but wouldn't "allow" them to take for you; how would you feel if they did the same?"

The guys stayed silent for a moment before it hit them, some of the girls had done this before. Juvia had jumped to what it seemed certain death to save Gray from Fukuro; when the tower of heaven happened, Erza was willing to become one with the lacrima to save her friends; Levy swam in a poison pool to save Gajeel; Lisanna risked her life to save Elfman from himself, and Lucy had surrendered her life not too long ago to spare Natsu from dying.

"Why was I even involved in this? I didn't say a word" Freed was calmly sitting on a chair with a cut on his forehead, and was holding a cold drink to his head.

"Well! Looks like a bunch of you are gonna get cold tonight guys" Happy covered his mouth with his paw before flying away to avoid being skinned by the guys.

They agreed to call it a night and went back to their rooms, still thinking about what the exceeds had mentioned. Gajeel grabbed the doorknob but stopped when a familiar smell hit him; he expected Levy to not be in the room, and was surprised by it "Gihi, maybe she is not that angry anymore".

He opened the door, and the sight made him dizzy; Levy was lying on her stomach reading a book in bed; she was wearing nothing but a pair of lacy dark blue panties, along with one of his shirts; her knees were bent, and she moved her feet playfully while reading and playing with a strand of her hair.

His eyes went straight to her bottom; he considered Levy to be perfect from every strand of hair to the tip of her toes, but Levy's perfectly shaped ass, had always been one of his favorite things to watch, even before they were together; of course, this was no secret to Levy.

Gajeel gulped and cleared his throat before closing the door with his foot "Hey Shrimp…" Levy turned her face slightly and lowered her glasses "Hey", that's all she said, that's all she had to say; Gajeel thought again, she couldn't be THAT mad, at least she was talking to him, right?

He walked slowly towards the bed and sat next to her; he waited a few minutes expecting for her to say something, but she had gone back to reading. Gajeel huffed a bit before slowly raising his hand and directing it to her ass; the man was gambling, she could get angry and lash at him, but at least then she would talk to him, or she could do what Levy did best, giggle and look cute. However the third option that he didn't play in his head was about to unfold.

Levy smacked his hand away, and giggled, but not in a cute way; she gave him teasing smirk "Oh Gajeel, did you really think it was going to be that easy?" He was confused, excited, and annoyed at the same time.

"Yeah, for a bit there I did shrimp"

"Stupid Dragon… There will need to be some retribution in order for you to gain my forgiveness"

Gajeel had no idea where this was going, but decided Levy's look was interesting enough for him to investigate, he gulped "Ok… I'll bite" Levy covered her mouth and giggled "Maybe…" Gajeel widen his eyes, this woman was going to be the death of him, and he loved it.

"What do I need to do to gain your forgiveness?" Despite his attempts to keep his voice cool, he was purring. He raised one finger and tried to trace her waist only to be smacked away again.

Levy sat up and commanded "Get off the bed" Gajeel gave her a confused look, until he noticed the look in her eyes "Now, Gajeel"

"Yes Ma'am" He jumped off the bed, he straightened himself up and observed her expectantly.

Levy couldn't help but giggle again at the sight of the powerful man melting in front of her "Gajeel… Shirt, off" He complied quickly and removed his shirt throwing it at the other end of the room.

"Good… Pants, off" No one had ever moved as quickly as he did, his pants had landed over a small table knocking down a lamp. Levy got off the bed, and started walking around him while tapping her chin with her index finger "Ok, kneel Gajeel"

"Wait, why?" Levy puffed her cheeks "Are you really going to argue with me now?" he chuckled a bit and kneelt "No ma'am" she seemed pleased at his answer.

"Smart boy, hands above your head Gajeel" He was certainly growing a bit suspicious, this was indeed not a normal behavior for Levy, however against his better judgment he decided to play along; after all, this was Levy, what could she ever do to him?

Levy walked towards his pants, grabbed his belt and wrapped it around his wrists; although a bit confused, he was also rather excited about how things were turning out to be. Gajeel knew at some point his need for dominance would take over, however this could wait for a few minutes, while Levy got whatever this was, out of her system and he was, of course, more than happy to comply with whatever made her happy.

The one thing Gajeel had failed to notice while being so distracted by Levy's actions, was that she was actually holding a very special pen in her hand; with a couple of swift moves she dribbled something above the belt, and walked again to where his pants were. Gajeel heard a metallic sound and turned immediately to watch Levy shaking Lucy's keys on her index finger.

"OI! What the hell Levy!"

She stuck her tongue out and turned on her heels to run out the door, closely followed by a very angry, Dragon Slayer. As soon as Gajeel took two steps out of the door he slammed into an invisible wall, he shook his head and landed his eyes on Levy who was giving him a cocky smile.

"And that's what happens when you act like an ass!"

Gajeel was about to shout at her when he saw the letters appearing on the wall

"Gajeel Redfox will not be allowed to go through this wall until Levy McGarden decides so, or until he HEARTLY apologizes to "Princess Lucy" and "Mistress Levy" admitting he acted like a complete idiot"

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!"

"Aw, that's not a good start Gajeel"

"That ain't happening Shrimp!"

"Well, then I guess you are going to stay right there"

Gajeel huffed in annoyance and turned to walk back in the room only to slam into another wall "You gotta be kidding me…"

"This wall will activate as soon as both Levy McGarden and Gajeel Redfox leave the room. The wall will not be removed until Levy McGarden decides so, or until he HEARTLY apologizes to "Princess Lucy" and "Mistress Levy" admitting he acted like a complete idiot"

"Levy! Remove this shit, right now!"

"Oh I'm sorry, did I hear please remove this Mistress Levy?"

"I ain't joking Shrimp"

"Me neither. Enjoy your new accommodations Gajeel! Good night!"

Levy turned on her heel and opened the door where the rest of the girls were "Here ya go Lu!" She threw the keychain right at Lucy who held it to her chest.

"By Mavis! What did you do? And why are you walking around in your underwear?"

They suddenly heard a loud roar coming from the aisle followed by a "FUCK!" Levy put both hands on her hips and winked "That's what he gets for acting like an idiot"

Levy proceeded to tell the girls in detail what she had done to Gajeel causing Cana to laugh so hard she fell to the floor "Well this is the biggest case of Dragon sized "Blue Balls" in the history of Earthland! Go Levy!"

Lucy gave them a half smile; she loved her guild, but without Natsu it just wasn't the same "Hey girls, can we call it a night? I'm a bit tired" They smiled at her; they had all been there trying to cheer her up but knew well that nothing will do the trick until they received final news of Natsu.

Cana opened the door and the first thing she saw was Gajeel sulking wearing nothing but his boxers, she couldn't hold her laugh, which only caused the girls to rush to the door to watch. Cana whistled loudly "Gajeel! Looking good!"

He sat on the floor still struggling with the restraints on his wrists, and mumbled something without removing his angry look from them until each got to their own rooms.

* * *

A couple of hours had passed since Fairy Tail had crashed the council; Natsu had been sitting in his cell sulking silently when he heard footsteps in the distance until the tall figure was standing outside of his cell. They observed each other for a bit before Natsu got desperate.

"What do you want old man?"

The man standing in front of him was non other than the council leader, a wizard with reputation within the wizard saints although he had refused the position.

"Such irreverent demeanor… Do you know who I am?"

"Look, I don't care who you are; you are either a judge or an executioner, so which is it?"

"How about a man willing to provide a way out for you?" he rested his hand above the door and removed the magic seal to open it "Follow me Mr. Dragneel"

Natsu stood up and walked behind the man leaving some distance, there was something odd about him; the man knew what he could do and was still willing to turn his back on him, Natsu didn't smell an ounce of fear on him, which made him wary.

They finally got to an office, black and white square floors, tall bookcases and a big desk in front of a stained glass window that seemed to be telling a story.

Natsu paid attention to the images; he could see a wizard with black hair and clothing attacking on one end, the colors around him were darker somehow, and they got clearer little by little. His eyes traced the window side to side, he saw in the middle of it all there were villages and mages defending the land, and just before reaching the other end he saw them… a group of Dragons of different colors.

"Please take a sit"

Natsu crossed his arms and cocked his head "I rather stand old man"

"My name is Shiro Mahotsu Mr. Dragneel, I'd rather you refer to me as such. I recognize this was never meant to be a fair audience and it pains me to see the corruption that has gotten within the council" he entangled his fingers and rested his hands on the desk "That being said, Fairy Tail caused severe damage to our building, forces, and confidence towards them"

"Confidence? That's a big word coming from the council. Don't matter… we made a deal"

"Which was made void by your own guild if I remember correctly" Natsu felt ice going through his veins and he realized what this was about, after all his efforts this was not close to being over "Mr. Dragneel, the rest of the council strongly feels the one that should be held responsible is Master Makarov since he supported this incident"

"No, no, no! You can't!" Shiro raised his hand to silence him "We can, the council wishes to remove Makarov from the guild and lock him up for reckless endangerment and damage to property; they also think you should be executed along with some of your teammates"

"My teammates?"

"Gajeel Redfox and Lucy Heartfilia… The rest would receive a lesser punishment"

The temperature of the room began to rise, and Natsu could feel his scales creeping up his arm "If you or anyone dares to lay a finger on them…" a growl started to form in the back of his throat before the council member continued "As the leader of the council they will follow my lead, I told them I wanted to give you an option… I know this will only lead to more destruction on your behalf and we wouldn't want that, would we?"

"You can't even imagine… destruction is a term you know nothing about"

"If you take that path, there's nothing we can do about it. Please keep in mind that even if you get rid of the council the name Fairy Tail would be tainted in blood, there wouldn't be a place for anyone to go back to"

Natsu felt a sharp pain in his chest; Fairy Tail was not only a home for him, but for all of them "What do you want?"

"I want to cut a deal with you… but before we proceed I need your promise that this information won't leave the premises; what's it going to be Mr. Dragneel?"

Natsu walked to the chair and sat down before nodding to Shiro "I'm listening"

* * *

It was early… too early for Lucy; Happy was curled on her belly purring, which she was happy about; she missed her friends breaking into her apartment and jumping on her bed. She had struggled to fall asleep and was only able to manage to get a few hours of rest before waking up to a loud thud outside of her room. She tossed the blankets throwing Happy off the bed, and stomped to the door slamming it open.

"What the hell!"

She blinked a couple of times, Gray had laughed so hard he had let his weight fall onto one of the doors, causing more than one person to wake up and watch a red faced Gajeel still held inside the rune walls in nothing but his boxers.

"SHUT IT ICE PRICK!"

"Morning Gajeel…"

Happy landed on Lucy's head and snickered at the sight "I warned you that you would get in trouble!"

"Shut it cat! Unless you want to become a small carpet!"

"Lucy Help! Gajeel wants to kill me!" She hugged him to her chest and rubbed his ears to calm him down.

"Blondie… Tell Levy to get this shit down! I ain't joking"

"Oh Gajeel, I'm sorry but you are going to have to convince her of that yourself! And what better time than the present… here she comes"

The hall was crowded with mages wearing pajamas, some woke up due to the thud on the door, and some came out after hearing the laughter from their comrades.

"Gajeel…"

"Shrimp! I ain't doing this so you may as well let me out!"

"No"

"No?!"

"No… We are getting ready for council and having breakfast; so, IF you want to starve and let us go by ourselves to hear about Natsu then that's up to you. I mean… what could possibly go wrong if we don't get good news and you are not there… right?" Levy was smirking, she knew how to push his buttons and leaving them to fester by themselves if things didn't work out, it was sure to bother him.

Gajeel stood up and pointed at Levy, he opened his mouth to say something only to close it ; his eye was twitching and he balled his hands before huffing in annoyance. He mumbled something unintelligible "I'm sorry Gajeel, I didn't get that…"

"Tsk...Mhm… Evil shrimp…" He took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm sorry I took her fucking keys alright!" He took a step towards the room but the runes were still there "Hey! I apologized!"

"Oh but I don't think you did it the right way"

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Levy smiled and held her hands to her back "Nope"

Gajeel slammed his fists on the rune wall before rubbing his temples "FINE! I want to apologize to… Princess Lucy… and Mistress Levy… for being a complete idiot…"

The whole aisle erupted in laughter at Gajeel's expense earning a growl from the Dragon Slayer "Well that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"I'm going to get you back for that Shrimp…"

Once the rune wall disappeared in took Gajeel two steps to cross the distance between him and Levy; they were about to get into a heated argument when Lucy approached them "Gajeel… can...can I talk to you?"

It threw him off, but he nodded and followed Lucy to her room; he gulped as soon as the door closed and turned to Lucy without saying a word.

"I can't blame you… for helping him… I know I was angry with you, I still am… But I would probably have done something similar if it meant protecting him…"

Gajeel took a deep breath and finally made his way to one of the couches "Look, It's not like I wanted to piss you off ya know? But, the idiot saved Levy so, I kind of owe him big time"

"I know you do; I also know that for some weird bizarre reason despite everything you are good friends"

"Like I could ever be friends with that idiotic fire lizard…"

Lucy giggled a bit "You can say all you want, but at the end of the day, you worry about him and you know it" Lucy sighed "Is being dense and private with your feelings a Dragon Slayer thing? Really… you guys are so complicated"

"Don't compare me with that idiot… I'm not complicated" Lucy stared at him deeply "Oh… so then it didn't take Levy facing her fears to get you two together then, I'm sorry I must have misunderstood"

"Err… no, I mean… Shut up Bunny girl…" Lucy smiled at him but her smile didn't reach her eyes "I just wish he would talk about how he feels, about everything… he is all loyalty, and fights"

"Mhm… We… I dunno…" He took a deep breath before giving her an understanding look "There was no reason to have these conversations before you know? We didn't grow up like you guys did"

"I know… but you guys should have learned already. He didn't talk about Igneel dying, he just went away… He didn't talk about his nightmares, he just went away… AGAIN, nor he talks about his fears, so what am I supposed to do?"

"Dragons shouldn't be afraid of anything. It may not seem like it, talking about him… the idiot runs to danger as if he didn't think about it, but we don't take choices without certainty; he jumps into stuff because he KNOWS he will win… and that's how he approaches everything"

"So, what you are saying is that he didn't talk about his feelings before because he wasn't sure I would respond to them as he wanted?"

"Basically"

"Well that's just infuriating… We've known each other for years now, he knows me better than anyone… he is my best friend. He should know he can trust me"

"You are both infuriating…" Lucy stared at him in annoyance puffing her cheeks, and not understanding where he was getting at "The one person who could defeat him without touching him is you Bunny Girl, a single word could send him crashing down, and if you can't see that, I'm not sure what else to tell you"

Gajeel stood up and walked to the door, but before opening it, he sighed, "There's a reason why you could hear each other back there, the same reason why your dream seemed so real… think about it" He turned enough just to give her half a smile before clearing his throat "Just to clarify I'll deny this conversation ever happened, and claim you've lost your mind…"

Things ran smoothly after that, they all had breakfast making a bit of conversation, however Lucy couldn't help but to keep thinking on what Gajeel had said last. She got lost in her thoughts and ignored the noises around her for a bit.

After so many years as teammates, it was no surprise Happy was the first to notice Lucy was not quite there "Levy, I don't think she is listening to you, she is being all weird again"

"What? Seriously! Lu?...Earth to Lucy" She snapped out at the sight of Levy's hand waving in front of her face.

"I'm sorry Lev, what were you saying?"

"I was just thinking about how Gajeel would get me back from the little stunt I pulled yesterday. What's on your mind Lu? You seem… off"

"Hmm… Ok … so, it's going to sound impossible, but yesterday I heard what Natsu was thinking sometimes and I saw… something…"

"Something like?"

"Ahem… it seemed like a memory, of some sort of a conversation he had with that crazy redhead; it was bad"

Levy decided not to ask about it since it seemed the thought of it had bothered Lucy "I don't think you are going crazy… ahm… Gajeel had mentioned something before, but I didn't consider a good idea telling you at the moment"

"Levy!"

She raised her hands in an apologetic gesture "I'm sorry Lu! But you were so worried!"

"Just tell me, please Levy"

"So… ahm… he said something about how when dragons choose a partner, their magic energy kind of tangles with the person they've chosen" Lucy stared at her in shock "That's not all… it can only happen if the chosen partner loves the dragon back" Levy could see her friends face getting four shades redder than Erza's hair.

"Ahem, wh-what are you saying Levy?"

"She's saying you liiiiiike each other!"

"Shut it! I'll turn you into violin strings!"

"Carla Help! Lucy wants to torture me!" Happy flew away to the ceiling beams to hide behind Carla and Lily, leaving the girls by themselves.

"Lu he also said that bond could be dangerous… he said if the bond was already settled then you could be at risk if something happened to him"

Lucy laid her head on the table "Levy you are being cryptic again…"

"Aw I'm sorry Lu; Gajeel didn't say much about it. I started asking what that meant for us and he said he wouldn't let it happen without my knowledge, and then he started fighting Gray"

"Well, ask him! Please Levy" Lucy stole a page from Natsu's book, and gave her friend the biggest puppy eyes she'd ever seen "Oh Lu… don't do that! I can't ask him now, he's probably still angry at me!" Lucy pouted a little and grabbed her hand "Pleeeeease, you are my best friend Levy" Levy puffed her cheeks and released her hands "FINE! But if he tortures me somehow, I'll get you back some way!"

Lucy was impressed she managed to convince Levy, but she was even more amazed on how the things Natsu used to do all the time worked on someone other than her -Maybe he does it on purpose, and he's actually an evil genius playing dumb… Oh, I am going mad- she laughed at herself for considering such a ridiculous idea.

Once everyone had finished breakfast they made their way to the council; immediately after they entered their land, it was obvious there were more than a few people that disapproved of their presence, starting with the knights and guard.

They walked silently trying to disregard the hateful looks and whispers that were only distinguishable by the Dragon Slayers "Tsk… I'll gladly take them down right now…" Wendy shook her head "Don't make it worse…"

They entered a room that was similar to the one they've almost destroyed the day before, from the semi-circle of seating arrangements, the windows and the witness stand; this one however had no runes, no grid, or protection.

"Erza...Is it just me or is this a bit… suspicious?" Gray was tensing up little by little; after all, they all expected to be greeted by the full force of the council.

"Indeed… It is" Erza crossed her arms and huffed "Gray… could you PLEASE leave your clothes on while in the council"

"God Dammit!"

"Juvia got Gray's shirt off the floor… not that you need any help anyways…"

"Come on! How many times do I need to say I'm sorry?" Gray stretched his hand towards Juvia, she hesitated for a bit but finally she took it "Just a couple more times…" He smiled at her "As many as you need me to"

Soon all noise died down when the doors from the back opened up revealing the council members following their current leader "Please take a sit"

Despite being wary about the situation they all complied and waited for the council's decision. The tension in the room was so dense it could've been cut with a knife; everyone was ready for the best and the worst. Lucy had a hand on her keys, Gray's hands were held together discreetly, Levy had her pen ready, and Erza had a loose grip on her sword.

"Jailor… Please allow Mr. Dragneel to join us" Natsu walked in looking almost the same as the day before, but Lucy could tell there was something in his eyes; it was a mix between acceptance, relief, and sadness.

"Master Makarov, you should know that I've previously discussed this arrangement with Mr. Dragneel and he's come to accept the terms that will be discussed today"

The guild was less than happy to hear this, they were sure Natsu was not in his right mind and was in no condition to accept their terms. His friends stared at him hoping he'll face them and smile in a relaxed way to let them know everything would be ok, but his eyes remained glued to the council.

"As you know, before your… intrusion… Mr. Dragneel had declared himself guilty of kidnap, murder, and arson; however, in light of the new findings, we understand that he was not only almost led to insanity, but also that the plan of some council members was for him to not get a fair treatment; that's something I can't condone"

Shiro immediately noticed some faces in the audience relaxing "However, we can't be sure of the fact that Mr. Dragneel is not a danger to himself or others… which is why we've come to the following conclusion; He will be allowed to go back to Magnolia with the condition of not using his magic at all for the next six months"

A few gasps were heard from the back, of course not being able to use your magic for a bit in exchange for freedom was not as bad as being executed, but they had never seen him without using his magic, even for a little.

"What do you include as using his magic? He is after all a Dragon Slayer" Erza was firmly staring at the council hoping the answer was not as bad as she thought it was.

"Well Ms. Scarlett, we consider everything; this goes from lighting one single finger, to transforming into his demon form, or eating any kind of fire since his body uses his magic to metabolize it"

Sting balled his fists in anger "Wait now! You are going to starve him! Do you know what could happen to a Dragon Slayer without eating his element even for a month?!" Rogue quickly got next to him and held him down "He's right, it's inhumane"

"Be that as it may, Dragon Slayers become stronger when feeding on their element, and at this point this is something we can't allow. Mr. Dragneel will survive on food, so calling it starvation is a bit harsh"

"You don't know what it's like!"

Natsu stood up and turned to Sting giving him an angry look "I've already agreed to it; the decision has been made, so, put a cork on it" He shook his head and sat down, but the anxiety remained deep inside his chest.

"If he fails to comply… the details of the case will be released to the public, and he will surrender to the council or be hunted by them. Along with that he will be receiving periodic visits by a telepath chosen by the council to review his advances and state of mind"

Natsu stood up and walked giving his back to the council before kneeling "I'm ready old man, let's get this over with"

"Very well… Jailor, please proceed"

A tall round man walked towards Natsu holding a contraption of some sort; it looked like two semi circles joined by one end and open at the other. He stood behind Natsu and placed it on his neck before closing the other end. The clicking sound of it closing made Natsu's brows twitch "Just do it" that's the only thing he said before his face contorted in pain with the final touch.

"What are you doing to him?!" Lucy almost ran towards him but was stopped my Makarov "There's nothing we can do now"

Once it was over, Natsu was panting but otherwise well; he stood up and rubbed the back of his neck hissing when his hand touched a sore spot.

"Nothing has been done to him that he didn't agree to Ms. Heartfilia. The item around his neck is embedded with different sorts of magic along with a Lacrima that will inform us of his whereabouts and will set off an alarm if he uses magic. This is connected directly between his sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae which will ultimately allow us to incapacitate him if he tries to evade the council"

"Incapacitate him? That could kill him! Are you mad!?"

"It could, but most likely wouldn't although even if he is a Dragon slayer I doubt he could move a finger after the shock to his nervous system. This could, of course, end badly for him if he ever chooses to go rogue again, paralysis, loss of nerve control or even speech, just to name a few. Now with this we considered this session closed, I'll have a word with Mr. Dragneel in my chamber before his departure; please wait patiently outside of the premises"

Natsu followed Shiro to one of the doors, once it closed the council member turned to Natsu; before he could say anything Natsu held his finger on his mouth signaling him to stay in silence until he was told otherwise.

* * *

Outside people were growing impatient, different groups of mages were scattered discussing the events and providing their opinion to the council's ruling. Lucy was pacing from one side to the next rapidly holding a sobbing Happy to her chest; her eyes were lost and her thoughts were scattered.

"Lucy you are going to make a ditch" Gray held Lucy's shoulders and rubbed them with his thumbs "It's going to be ok"

"How is it going to be ok? It's Natsu we are talking about! He can't go six months without his magic! Hell, he can't even go through breakfast without burning something up!"

"Indeed he can't, in all honesty I'm worried about that myself" Erza had joined them as soon as he saw Gray holding her "But we'll have to make sure he does, the consequences are too great"

"But guys! Natsu uses his magic for everything! How is he going to work, or eat, or be Natsu?" The blue cat was extremely worried about his friend; he hadn't been with him for months now and was afraid of this changing him too much.

"Don't worry about it" Gray rubbed Happy's ear "We'll help out, anyways you usually don't keep your reward, you guys always end up paying damage or giving it to Lucy for rent! So, how about you come to a few missions and take your reward in full?"

"Aye! I could help Natsu just as much as he has helped me!"

"That's the attitude Happy!"

They noticed Wendy and Gajeel getting closer to them along with Sting and Rogue "He's coming!" Wendy was excited about her friend coming home despite the circumstances.

Slowly they noticed him walking towards them, but he wasn't alone. Lucy pursed her hips when she noticed the tall, redheaded woman walking closely next to Natsu "I thought she was gone…"

"I think we all did…" Erza's held her sword tightly.

Natsu's pace slowed down even more as if he wasn't looking forward to meeting his friends; he stopped in his tracks before Meryl held his hand to her chest and said something to him, he gave her a half smile and nodded before continuing his way; the sight made Lucy's blood boil.

"Hey…Guys… I… Thanks for everything, but can we not talk about this for now? I…" Merryl grabbed his arm "He just needs time, ok?"

"So is he not able to speak for himself? Or is that your new mission now?" the poison in Lucy's voice was so strong that even Cobra would have been thrown to the ground.

"I can speak perfectly fine Luce, I do need time and she is just trying to help, ok?"

"Oh I think she's helped quite enough" Lucy turned on her heel and walked away. Natsu rubbed the back of his neck, hissing again at the sharp pain on it "I think I'm not the only one that will need time"

* * *

*In Shiro's office*

Natsu followed Shiro to one of the doors, once it closed the council member turn to Natsu; before he could say anything Natsu held his finger on his mouth signaling him to stay in silence until he was told otherwise.

"Ok, it should be safe now"

"What was that about?"

"Old man! You have 5 other Dragon Slayers in the room and believe me their hearing is not to be taken lightly"

"Do you think they will pose a problem?"

"Nah, I'll handle them…"

"You need to be certain; you won't succeed if they find out about what you are doing"

"It'll be fine… can I… at least talk to Lucy about this? I've hurt her enough already… If I do this and it works out I'm not sure she'll forgive me"

"You can't tell her, getting her involved will just endanger her. I highly doubt after all you did to protect her you would take that risk now"

"This is going to suck…"

"It certainly will, but if you manage to complete your end… in six months they'll have their lives back and Earthland will be a better place"

 

"But there are no guarantees… I know. How long do I have before shit hits the fan?"

"No more than two months"

Natsu nodded with new determination, this would be the way to end things with the least possible damage. He was worried about Lucy but hoped she'll eventually forgive him for everything; he wasn't aware of the bond he shared with her, and thought listening to her voice had been a moment of mental weakness and nothing else. Little did he know that she was aware now of the bond and he would have a hard time keeping any secrets from her.


	22. Avoidance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The guild finally starts their way home along with Natsu; the road had never been easier for him but at least this time it provided some eye opening moments with Lucy. 
> 
> STILL HATE SUMMARIES XD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi awesome people :), as usual thanks to Nenley for her Beta work! Sorry I didn't update last week, I'm working on Chapter 31 of this story and also starting a new one (not published yet) an non magic AU that as usual will have too much angst with all our favorite characters and pairings. That one won't be posted until I have a good 10 Chapters done so the updates can be scheduled
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> If no pain, then no love. If no darkness, no light. If no risk, then no reward. It's all or nothing. In this damn world, it's all or nothing.
> 
> \- Glennon Doyle Melton -

Natsu's pace slowed down even more as if he wasn't looking forward to meeting his friends; he stopped in his tracks before Merryl held his hand to her chest and said something to him, he gave her a half smile and nodded before continuing his way; the sight made Lucy's blood boil.

"Hey…Guys… I… Thanks for everything, but can we not talk about this for now? I…" Merryl grabbed his arm "He just needs time, ok?"

"So is he not able to speak for himself? Or is that your new mission now?" the poison in Lucy's voice was so strong that even Cobra would have been thrown to the ground.

"I can speak perfectly fine Luce, I do need time and she is just trying to help, ok?"

"Oh I think she's helped quite enough" Lucy turned on her heel and walked away. Natsu rubbed the back of his neck, hissing again at the sharp pain on it "I think I'm not the only one that will need time"

Everyone tried to look away from the scene, but it was hard to avoid; Mira looked incredibly

disappointed and pouted while looking at the floor.

"Hey, you look like someone kicked your puppy… What's up with that face?"

"Oh Laxus, am I the only one who expected a movie-like scene here?"

"What the hell are you talking about Mira?"

"Yeah you know… like them running in slow motion, Lucy landing on his arms while he swirled her around, stopping only to kiss her! And then a wedding, OH by Mavis the babies they would have!" You could practically see the little hearts in her eyes and the stars above her head.

"Ok woman… snap out of it" Mira gave Laxus an angry look "They just lost their rhythm; they haven't seen each other in a long time… so it'll take time for them to adjust. She is very stubborn, he is very… slow"

Mira nodded and took a deep breath "You're right… let's just hope that redheaded succubus over there doesn't make things harder"

* * *

After witnessing the unexpected scene between Natsu and Lucy, the guild started walking back, not really knowing if to cheer for the return of their friend or letting him be. Natsu was walking back along with Merryl, while Lucy was all the way to the front of the group in a fast pace.

Gray was getting a bit tired of this, and his lack of patience started to get the best of him "I've had it! I'm going to go beat some sense into that thick skull of his!" He was about to turn back to get to him when a soft hand grabbed him by the arm.

"My darling, you will do no such thing"

"Juvia! Someone needs to go snap some sense into him"

"I agree… but not you"

"Why the hell not!?"

Erza stood close enough to hear and she decided to join in "Because you will most likely end up in a fight with Natsu, and he can't lose control now, remember?"

"Oi! We ain't kids you know?" Both females looked at each other with a big sweat drop on their foreheads "Fine! Point taken! What do you suggest?"

"Gray-sama, you can go talk to Lucy, and Juvia will go talk to Natsu"

"Tsk… Fine…" Gray ran to the front of the group where Lucy was, to pull her away. Just as he made it there, he discovered that he had no idea what to say to her. He thought that with Natsu it would have been easy; they would butt heads, call each other names and eventually during the argument, a few truth bombs would come out.

Juvia turned on her heel and walked to the back where Natsu was talking to Merryl, she apparently interrupted a conversation since they both got silent as soon as she approached them.

"Natsu, I need to have a word with you in private"

"Hey… Hi Juvia, I…" He was interrupted by the short fuse girl next to him "He said he didn't want to talk, drippy, can't you take a hint?"

Natsu raised his brows and silently mumbled to himself -Holy shit- "Oh, you seem to be confused, this wasn't a question… and even if it was, it wasn't meant for you" Despite of the snarky comment, Juvia's face was relaxed.

"Any matter involving Pyro over here, involves me for the time being" Natsu could feel things were quickly getting out of hand when he noticed Juvia's eyes. Ever since she had joined the family, her look was sweeter, more human and warm; but this stare reminded him of her time as part of the element five.

"I'll ask nicely one more time, this is a family matter, and you are NOT family"

"OK! Let's stop right now! Merryl… go over there and do… whatever" She stomped her foot and crossed her arms like a little kid "But Natsu!" He sighed and looked at her with an angry stare "But nothing; Juvia is family and if you want to tag along you are going to learn to respect my family, is that clear?" Merryl stomped to the other side and kept walking with an angry pout.

"So-Sorry Juvia" He rubbed the back of his head with an attempt of a smile, not quite the one he always had on him.

"It's ok, so… I need to thank you"

"Why?" Juvia held her hands on her back and smiled "Gray told me what you did for him"

"Beat the shit out of him?" He smiled again "Anytime Juvia"

She giggled and covered her mouth with her hand "Why do you always act like you have no idea of what's going on? And don't you dare give me that very well practiced confused puppy look face" Natsu opened his mouth several times just to close it again without saying a thing.

"Natsu… Can I tell you something?" Natsu chewed the inside of his cheek, not sure if it was something he wanted to hear, but still he smiled at her "Shoot!"

"You haven't seen each other for over three months Natsu, and when you finally meet... you make her angry?"

He crossed his arms above his chest, and pouted childishly "I don't even know why she is angry! She just snapped!"

"Well… Juvia knows Lucy is not fond of your current companion, she did put you guys through a lot"

"So? I mean… so did I... I knocked you guys out, I burned a house… not that I haven't done that before" He smiled a bit at his own statement before he frowned "and what I did… not only to him… but to her… I…"

Juvia stopped him and grabbed his arm to pull him to face her "You did what you had to do to protect the people you love, we know that. You saved Lucy, Lisanna, Levy… and myself, we owe you too much"

"Well… I owe Merryl too…" he sighed "If it wasn't for her I wouldn't have known how to save you guys, I mean that… and I also kind of… tried to kill her… twice, so…"

"I get that… but… Juvia thinks that Lucy doesn't like the fact that she looks really cozy with you"

"Oh…" The last months had been so confusing, that he had forgotten until that moment all about the day Merryl walked to the guild, practically announcing their rendezvous in the forest -Well, it wasn't going to stay a secret -. He cleared his throat "W-why would she be angry about that?"

Juvia sighed "Look, if you don't want to drop the boyish act that's fine, but please think about how she has been suffering over you for the last three months"

"Tsk… she hasn't been the only one Juvia"

"I know… but both of you are getting away from each other to avoid the situation, and your friend over there is not going to help you a bit in patching things up with Lucy"

Natsu raised his arms to put them behind his head, but grunted in pain and grabbed his side, which was still sore from his time with Arlo; Juvia immediately grabbed his arm "Are you ok?" He shook her off "I'm fine" Juvia gave him a concerned look, "I'll call Wendy over" She took a step forward, but he grabbed her wrist "Don't, I said I'm fine Juvia" she nodded and walked back to Erza, although her concern didn't fade away.

* * *

After an incredibly awkward silence with the Celestial mage, he finally opened his mouth "Hey, Lucy" Gray had started talking before even knowing where the conversation would lead, and stayed silent for some time before deciding to wing it "Er… so, how are you doing?"

She rolled her eyes "Fine, what can I do for you?" Gray kept opening and closing his mouth without making a sound "OH BY MAVIS! Just say what you have to say Gray!"

-Damn it, she is becoming as scary as Erza…- "So, I know you are a bit… angry" Lucy huffed and crossed her arms "Ok, you are very angry, but… can't you just talk to him?"

Lucy stopped in her tracks and turned towards him, she poked his chest hard enough for him to flinch again "SURE! As soon as the devil's mistress leaves his side"

"Lucy, we don't even know why she came back with him! Come on, be reasonable!"

"Reasonable? Gray there's nothing reasonable about this situation! Things… are just... too complicated!"

"Then uncomplicate them! You spent three months with a guy against your will, he spent three months going crazy until he snapped and took it upon himself to save you, then you decided it was your turn to save him and you faced the council… the letter said he loved you, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it's just... "

"What?!"

"Every time we grow close it's because something bad happened… every time we are close to dying, losing each other, the one time we kissed was so…"

"Wait, back up a little… you kissed?" Gray was now smirking and raising his brow at Lucy.

Lucy blushed and her eyes went wide "Oh… I… thought… yeah" she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and she rubbed her right arm right where the scar would be if Wendy hadn't been there.

"It was a few days before… it all happened, but the kiss was so… full of pain" tears started accumulating in the corners of her eyes "It was the day he found out I was with Fukuro, I made him believe I wanted to get married, and he kind of just…"

"He went for it… of course; he had to wait until the eleventh hour… classic fire-brains"

"Anyways… he... lost control for a bit and clawed my arm"

"He did what!?" Gray fisted his hands which Lucy noticed right away "Hey! He didn't mean to, you know he was out of it" She waited for him to nod before continuing "You should have seen the look on his face… like I was made of glass and he had shattered me. I knew what his nightmare was Gray… and I had to keep him away from this… so I…"

"So, you used my one true fear to break me" Lucy was startled by the sound of his voice and turned quickly only to see him standing there with a serious look on his face; no smile, no glow in his eyes.

"Natsu… I"

"And you decided that it was best to tell Frosty first" he directed a cold look at Gray while pointing his finger.

"I… let me explain"

"It's ok Luce, you did what you had to do, and so did I; don't worry about it" He gave her a big toothy smile and turned, but Lucy dashed and stood in front of him "Wait, let's just talk, ok?" He looked away still trying to smile and he tried to move only to be blocked by her again.

"Luce… please, just… I'm fine ok? I promise we'll talk once we get home, just… let me go for now"

Lucy held the front of his vest "Let's talk now" he sighed and allowed their eyes to meet, that's when she noticed the pain; he was smiling, there was no particular sign of his behavior changing, but his eyes showed something raw, deep, and painful. She released her grip and sobbed, "When we get home then?" he ruffled her hair "It's a promise"; that's the last thing he said before moving to the back of the group.

They went back to the Inn deciding not to travel until the next day, despite of Natsu's objections. He had chosen to go back to his room to get some rest and no one questioned him since they assumed the last few days hadn't been exactly vacations for him. No one had dared to ask what had happened to him inside the council building yet.

He went back to his room, and decided to take a shower; he didn't remember when was the last time he had taken one; sure, he honestly didn't do it daily but even he could tell it was overdue. He took his shoes by the door, and dragged his feet to the bathroom, once there he grabbed his vest and as soon as he try to pull it off, he felt the pain cruising through his body.

His wounds were still semi fresh when he left the council, and with all the walking, sun, and movement his clothes were now sticking to the open cuts on his side and back. He took a deep breath, and placed his hands on the sink.

"Ok, the side is worse off than the back… so easy choice then" he took his right arm off the vest slowly, and gave a small pull to test the pain, he immediately hissed but didn't stop pulling until his back was free. He placed one hand on his skin right next to the wound on his left side to try to relieve the pressure, and gripped his vest to the other.

"Ok, there's no way around it, just like a Band-Aid" He practically had to peel the vest off his skin, sending a second bolt of pain through his body "Mother F… argh!" He placed his hand on his side while he panted over the sink; he felt himself going dizzy but balanced his weight and was able to maintain his stand.

A few minutes passed before he was able to stand up straight and observe himself in the mirror; the wounds that had been semi fresh were now oozing blood and liquid and dripping on his pants, he had a burst lip, a cut underneath his semi black eye, and a bunch of bruises on his torso, but this was not the worse he'd looked.

"Well… What you gonna do, right?" He smiled at the mirror; he had kept the determination to smile throughout the years just as he had promised long ago, but even he knew it was getting harder. 

He got the scalding hot water running and he slowly made his way inside the shower. As soon as the hot water touched his skin there was a searing burning pain that cause him to lay his hands on the wall in front of him, holding on to it so hard that the mosaic cracked under the pressure of his hands. Natsu stayed there for quite some time, for some reason there was a sense of peace that accompanied the physical pain.

He got off the shower and almost used his powers to dry himself off until he remembered he couldn't, not for now. He took a towel and removed the excess water off his hair, and patted the rest of his body as well, being a bit more careful with his injuries.

Natsu was tired; he didn't even bother to remove the bloody towel and clothes from the floor. He walk towards a small bag Happy had brought for him and took a pair of dark pants and a shirt before going to bed.

He rested on his belly and hugged the pillow trying to sleep, and although it took a few hours for him to manage to close his eyes, he was finally drifting away. A few seconds after, the nightmares made their way into his mind.

_Lucy was standing in a dark room, her hair was loose, and she wore a mid tight dress the color of the sky; she held her hands to her chest, searching with her eyes for someone. He walked closer to her and as soon as she heard the steps, she turned to him and gave him a big smile, that smile that was meant only for him; it was almost as if golden light was making her shine._

_He felt his heart skip a bit and felt happy, she was there waiting for him! It was clear now, and he couldn't help but run to her; this time he was able to catch up, this time she didn't flinch nor looked afraid by his presence and he let himself feel hope._

_He wrapped his arms around her and held her to his chest tightly, but he suddenly felt her go limp, he opened his eyes and the light around her was gone; Natsu released his grip to look at her face, but her head fell back, her eyes were grayed out and her arms were just hanging lifeless on her sides._

_He felt desperation sinking in, he had barely touched her; he shook her carefully and whispered her name hoping she would come back to him, he rubbed her cheek with his hands gently still repeating her name. He knelt still holding her lifeless body and cried over her, and as soon as his hot tears hit her face, she burst into flames and was consumed by his fire. It only took a few minutes for her body to become ashes and fly into the wind leaving him alone in the dark room of his mind, not looking like him anymore, but as the demon he had been afraid to embrace._

Natsu woke up panting and holding his chest, he knew his body temperature had started to rise and realized while he could probably do a decent job containing his power while he was awake, nights would be a completely different challenge.

"Well… No more sleep until I figure this out" He got out of bed and put his shoes back on, he didn't know what time it was, but at this point, it didn't really matter.

He walked down the stairs and went to the bar of the Inn, where he noticed Happy sleeping on a table where Cana and Macao were still having a few drinks.

"Hey Natsu! Care to join us?"

"Sure thing, how long have you been drinking?"

"Pff who keeps track of that!"

Natsu smiled, for some reason this normal Cana behavior gave him peace, after all, there are some things that never change.

"I guess I have some catching up to do then" He walked to the bar and asked the bartender for a bottle of whiskey and a cup, which gained him a quizzical stare from the man.

"You mean a glass of whiskey sir?"

"Nah, I meant a bottle, and a glass. Unless that's a problem?"

The bartender shook his head and smiled at Natsu while he gave him both items and watched him as he walked back to the table.

"Natsu, we have plenty of alcohol for us here, we don't need any more" Macao said while raising his eyebrow at Natsu. Sure, they would drink often, but Natsu had never been a heavy drinker anyways, and there was only a handful of times in which he had participated in Cana's crazy drinking dares.

"Who said I'm sharing?" Natsu poured himself a glass and drank it fully; he then proceeded to drink the second one. He drank the first four like that and after the fifth, he started taking it slower.

Cana played with her glass and looked at him "Trouble sleeping?" Natsu smiled and circled the rim of the glass with his finger "Yeah, I guess I miss the cold stone bed" he took another sip of his glass and moved his hand to rub Happy's ear "Hey Bud?"

"Mhm...Natsu?"

"Hey Buddy" Natsu gave him a big toothy smile "Come on, you can't stay on the table the whole night, ok?" Happy nodded and flew slowly towards the stairs leaving the mages behind.

Happy opened the door to the room; all the lights were off with the exemption of the bathroom.

"I should brush my teeth; Lucy said I had to before going to bed!" He rubbed his eyes with his fury paws and went straight to the bathroom where he was a bit startled by the sight. He descended and took the bloody towel on his paws and held it in front of him "Oh…" his eyes watered a bit before laying the towel on the side and picking up the discarded clothes that had similar stains.

He cleaned the tears of his face with the back of his paw and flew to the sink where he saw the marks of two bloody palm shaped stains "What should I do…?" He pondered on going to Lucy, but he knew well things were weird with them; he was worried that if he talked to her, things would not get better between his best friends.

Happy left the room and flew to the last door from the aisle, he opened it slowly trying to avoid making any sounds until he got to the foot of the bed, and he did his best to whisper "Hey… Lilly, wake up" he had to shake the black exceed a bit before he noticed his eyes started to open.

"What are you doing here? It's late"

"I know… I just… I need help"

"Unless there's someone dying Happy… it can wait until morning" Lily crawled back to his place and closed his eyes before he heard Happy's whimper, he rubbed his paw on his forehead and sat up "What?"

"Please Lilly… "The black exceed could tell something was worrying his friend, so he decided to comply "What happened?"

"I need to show you something I found in my room" Both exceeds flew out the door silently; however Gajeel had noticed the moment Happy entered the room and decided to follow along as soon as they left.

Once inside the room, Happy showed Lily the drenched clothes and towel "What in the name of Mavis! He wasn't bleeding when we got him, was he?"

"I… don't think so, we would have noticed right?"

"Fucking Salamander…" both exceeds turned to find Gajeel with his arms crossed against his chest "Where is he?"

"Oh… he is downstairs in the bar, with Cana and Macao" Gajeel nodded and sighed "Lilly, go back to the room and stay with Levy, Happy, stop worrying about Salamander, I'll go get him" both exceeds nodded and observed as Gajeel crossed the door and left their sight.

He walked downstairs and saw him sitting at the same table with Cana and Macao; however, the last two were already sleeping using their arms as a pillow. Gajeel walked and took the bottle from the table.

"Oi! What are you doing, give it back"

"What am I doing? What are you doing idiot! You are supposed to be resting"

"I…" he was cut off before finishing "Oh let me guess! You are fine?" Natsu huffed in annoyance "Yeah, that's right"

Gajeel fisted his hand and nudge Natsu on his left side causing him to bend a bit from the pain "Yeah, you are fine! That's why your damn cat is crying over your bloody stuff in the middle of the night!"

Natsu's eyes widen "Oh fuck…" he stood up, took the bottle from Gajeel's hands and started walking upstairs; the Iron Dragon Slayer shook his head and turned to follow his comrade, he stopped at the door frame when he heard Natsu talking to Happy.

"Stop crying bud!"

"But you are hurt! Why won't you let Wendy see you?"

"I'm telling you I'm fine, why would I want to wake Wendy up at this time over such a small thing?"

"Well… it doesn't seem small" Happy pointed at the drenched items that had been forgotten in the bathroom a few hours before.

"That… looks worse than what it is ok?"

"Do you promise?"

"I do! Have I ever lied to you?" his signature grin made his way to his face which caused the sorrow in the blue cat's heart to fade a little "Ok, but you need to let Wendy see you tomorrow"

Natsu rubbed the back of his head and laughed "Fine! You've got it bud. How about we get some sleep now?" Happy nodded and made his way to the pillow, it only took him a few minutes to fall asleep.

"You have something to say Gajeel?"

"Why is it not healing normally?"

"It is healing normally, which is abnormal, to us… may I remind you that I used a bunch of magic when I… anyways… I'm drenched, not much I can do at this point"

"Mhm… ok, I'm leaving then, don't bleed to death… It'll be a mess to clean up in the morning"

"Sure thing" Natsu stood up and walked to the door, before Gajeel pushed his hand against his chest "I thought you were going to sleep".

"Can't" Gajeel waited for him to elaborate; Natsu rolled his eyes and huffed "Because I can't control what I do when I sleep, and I can't use my powers. Anything else Mother Gajeel?"

"Tsk… fucking punk…" Gajeel left while clenching his fists; any other day he would have punched Salamander right on the face, however he knew this would be taking advantage of the unfortunate situation the Fire Dragon Slayer was experiencing. In the back of Gajeel's mind, he found the whole situation to be suspicious, so he decided he would keep a close eye on the mage.

Natsu dedicated the night to pacing the halls of the Inn, sitting at the bar, and looking down the window to avoid falling victim to sleep and tiredness.

The next morning they had to depart to return to Magnolia, everyone had their things ready to go to the train station; aside from the obvious pouting from all Dragon Slayers, things seemed to start falling back into place little by little. Sting and Rogue had decided to walk back to avoid the motion sickness, however they accompanied Fairy tail to the train station to say their goodbyes.

"W-why can't I just walk back? Sting and Rogue are doing it!" Natsu refused to stand from the bench at the station already looking a bit green just from the thought of that deadly contraption.

"Because the Master is being held responsible for you, we can't let you out of our sight" Erza, trying to be more empathetic tried to reason with him.

"Well then we should all walk back!"

"Ugh" Erza covered her face with one hand and rested the other one on her hip "Get up!"

"NO!" he held to the bench as if his life depended on it.

"Natsu…" her eyes darkened, she gritted her teeth and gripped her sword "Are you going to make me force you in the train?"

He gulped and stared at her "N-No ma'am" She relaxed a bit after listening to him and smiled, "Well, then… get... up"

He stood and dragged his feet all the way to the entrance trying to figure a way out all the way to the door, he stopped for a minute deciding whether or not to make a run for it when Merryl hugged his arm and pulled him inside "Hey lover boy! We don't want to be late, do we?" the redheaded nightmare had been glued to him since leaving the council, but despite that, she was unaware of his motion sickness; he whined and pouted all the way to their cabin.

She sat in front of him, and stretched her legs to rest them on his lap.

"Get off!" she smirked at him "Make me". He pushed her feet off only to have her do it again and again "Fuck Merryl, cut it out!" in that moment the door of their compartment opened to reveal Gray and Juvia, followed by Lucy.

Gray rushed and sat opposite to Natsu pulling Juvia with him leaving her next to Merryl; Mavis knew his girlfriend was the jealous type and he didn't want to disturb her by sitting next to her; however, he was still unaware of what had transpired between them the day before.

Natsu looked at Lucy's decisive stare as she sat next to him.

"Hey Luce…"

She looked at him and patted her lap "Come on, you know the drill"

"Nu uh, I'll be ok…"

Merryl gave her a deathly stare "Oh for crying out loud! You are such a floozy! Could you throw yourself at him a little more?"

A second, that's how long it took for Natsu to grab her wrist with his right hand "Call her that… one more time Merryl"

"But she's just trying to…" she was immediately cut off "She is trying to be helpful, and she knows me; what did I say about disrespecting my family?" he released her hand and rested his head on the window, still refusing to rest his head of Lucy's lap.

Lucy smiled and stretched her arms "It's ok Natsu… you can say no now, but once it starts running..." almost as if the train had been summoned, it started moving causing Natsu to whine and roll in his seat.

"What is happening to him!?" Merryl was sure he was either sick or dying.

Lucy just giggled; she grabbed Natsu by the shoulders and laid his head on her lap "There, there… isn't this better?" she started rubbing his temples and caressing his soft pink hair along his scalp causing him to relax and practically purr.

Natsu relaxed so much he fell asleep, and he suddenly turned his face to cuddle against Lucy's belly and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"What exactly are you doing to him?" Merryl was pouting again; it seemed this would be her regular face from the remainder of the trip.

"Soothing him… I always do this for him when we travel" she gave the redhead a cocky smile before brushing his face with her fingers. After half an hour Lucy cradled his face and whispered, "I need to go to the bathroom, I'll be back soon ok?" she stood up carefully and moved his head to rest on the cushions.

She entered the small bathroom and took care of her necessities; she was washing her hands and looking at herself in the mirror "I'll fix this, I've got this! That ridiculous crazy woman won't know what hit her!" as it turned out, Lucky Lucy Heartfilia was right, the poor crazy and clingy read head didn't see it coming.

"EEEEEEEEEEEKKK!" That's what Lucy heard followed by uncontained laugher and a thud. She opened the door to find Merryl's face so red that almost match the color of her hair.

"MOVE BLONDIE!" she pushed Lucy out of the bathroom. The celestial mage kept walking angry and confused "What's wrong with that woman!?"; she opened their cabin door to find Gray and Juvia rolling on the floor.

"What the hell happened!?"

"OH LUCY! It was magical! She tried to do the same thing you did with Natsu!" he was still laughing hysterically and took a deep breath before continuing, "He fucking barfed on her!"

Lucy tried not to laugh but it was impossible, she held one hand to her stomach and covered her mouth with the other one "Well… serves her right!" She cradled Natsu's head again and sat on the cushion before going back to rubbing his temples.

"Gray darling, Juvia is going to borrow a book from Levy"

"Ok, don't take long" he smiled and squished the hand of the water mage causing her to blush. She opened the door and got on her way.

"My, my… you are all cotton candy and roses"

"Am not!" Lucy giggled as she noticed him blushing "It's nice to see you guys like that". Lucy noticed Natsu struggling in his sleep and squinting his eyes, she touched his forehead with the back of her hand.

"Uhmm Gray? Natsu feels a bit warm"

"So? Flame-brain is always a bit hot"

"No, no I mean he feels a little warm for Natsu standards"

"Well… I don't think there's much to worry about"

* * *

Juvia got into Levy's compartment and smiled when she found Gajeel in a similar state to Natsu's "Hi Levy!"

"Hey Juvia! What's up?"

"Do you have any book I can borrow?"

"Umm yeah! You see that bag?" Levy pointed at a carry-on she had on the space above the seats "There are some books there, take whichever you like"

"Thanks!" Juvia browsed through the bag until she found a book she was interested in.

"Hey, so what was all the noise about?" Juvia laughed, "Lucy was soothing Natsu, and when she left Merryl tried to so the same"

"I'm guessing it didn't go well?"

"Unless you count Natsu throwing up on you as good, no, it didn't" both mage snickered at the comment "Anyways, Merryl left to clean herself up, and now that Lucy is back, Natsu was able to go back to sleep" Gajeel flinched before Juvia continued "Anyways, Thanks for the book!" and with that, Juvia went back to Gray.

Gajeel struggled and pushed himself up "Wake him up"

"Gajeel? Why would we wake him up? No! He needs to rest!"

He was about to speak when a bump in the rails threw him back on the ground and caused him to whine. Gajeel was barely able to pull himself up and drag himself as much as he could, holding onto the wall.

"What are you doing!?"

"Shrimp! Wake him… up"

She puffed her cheeks "You are being impossible! Come on, let's go back…"

"God Dammit Levy! Wake him up!" Gajeel pulled himself until he got to Natsu's compartment to find him shifting on Lucy's lap. He grabbed him from his vest and pulled him up before a second bump threw both Dragon Slayers to the ground one above the other.

"Get off Gajeel!" Natsu was barely able to focus his eyes "What the hell!"

Gajeel put his hand on his mouth to avoid getting sick before taking a deep breath "You… fell asleep"

Natsu's eyes immediately widen before trying to focus his eyes to observe around him, he saw everyone was ok and touched the contraption on his neck to make sure everything was in order.

"Gajeel! Can you please explain what you're doing?" Levy had both hands on her hips and was giving him an angry stare; he looked back at Natsu and shook his head "It ain't my business Shrimp"

"Well it sure as hell didn't matter if it wasn't your business when you made your way here, did it?"

"That's different" Levy stomped her foot "Why?"

Natsu took a deep breath, rested his head on the wall and closed his eyes "Because I can't be allowed to sleep… and he knows it… not until we get home and I figure this out"

Lucy knelt next to him and grabbed his shoulders "Why?"

"Because… If I sleep… I'll dream… and when I do, I'll get nightmares… and I can barely avoid using magic if I'm awake Luce…" Lucy remained in silence; he had finally shown a bit of vulnerability while facing the fact this was a no-way-out situation, and for her it was shocking.

They had been partners and best friends for years, and he had always displayed himself as confident, cocky, childish and unbeatable; if there was something the guild knew, is that even in the hardest, deadliest situation, at the end of it all... no one could defeat Fairy Tail's Salamander, the Fire Dragon Slayer, Son of the Fire Dragon King.

This type of vulnerability was new for her; he was looking away to not meet her eyes while the rest of the few present mages stared at him in an equally shocked fashion, all except for Gajeel, that is, who was trying to compose himself on the floor and was not shocked at all by any of this.

Lucy realized at that moment why Natsu hadn't been open about the situation; she thought about the weight he probably felt on his shoulders all the time, and how hard it must be for him to always keep his relaxed demeanor. She understood, he brought hope… why else would the guild risk going to war with the council? He was a hero in everyone's eyes.

"Natsu…" She noticed him tightening his fists; he would still not look at her. She knelt next to him, and grabbed his neck before wrapping him with her arms and making him rest his weight on her. It took a few minutes but he relaxed and wrapped his arms on her weight.

"Guys… can you give us a minute? Please…" They all nodded, Gray picked Gajeel from the floor and took him out, followed by Levy and Happy before Juvia closed the door on her way out.

She breathed his scent, it was spicy like cinnamon and forest breeze; she rubbed his nape and ran her fingers on his hair when she noticed him tightening his grip and releasing a sob so small that it was almost impossible to hear.

"It's ok…" he held his breath trying to avoid the tears that threaten to come sooner or later "Just let go… I'm here, I'll always be here for you. I'm ok…"

"Luce… I…" He couldn't hold it anymore, he hid his face in her chest, she felt his warm tears falling down on her while she rubbed soothing circles on his back. The moment didn't last long before a bump on the way triggered his motion sickness "I feel like shit…"

Lucy giggle and smacked his forehead lightly "If you throw up on me too I'll Lucy kick you all the way to Magnolia!"

"Buuuut Luuuuuceee" she cradled his face and rested her forehead on his. He breathed her scent, he'd always thought she had the sweetest smell in the world; it reminded him of wild vanilla flowers and lavender.

-She is so close… man why do I need to feel like this, this woman is going to kill me… stop staring, stop staring. Man… those lips, why does she need to have the perfect lips! Why can't they just be regular unappealing lips! NO they need to be plump and pink, and look so soft!- While Natsu was rambling in his mind, Lucy blushed; she could hear everything he thought but had managed to keep her own thoughts to herself.

They both gulped and stayed in silence for a bit, before Lucy felt brave enough to break the silence.

"I'll help you stay awake… but as soon as we get home we need to look for a solution. I know you are strong but you can't be awake for six months"

"I know… It would be much easier if I could sleep now… I feel my stomach is going to leave my body soon…"

"Ok, so I'll keep rubbing your temples"

"Then I'll fall asleep"

"We… could talk" Natsu gave her a confused look, almost as he thought there was nothing to talk about, but he knew that wasn't the case "Ok, what about?"

"I'm still angry at you…" He sighed and grabbed her hand "I'm sorry" she puffed her cheeks in annoyance, "you idiot… do you even know what I'm angry about?"

He thought about the options, he knew there were millions of reasons Lucy could be mad at him. The past three months had been hell and he had done many things to piss her off; he decided asking would most definitely work against him "Ok… so I'm really sorry? About… everything?"

"You left a letter Natsu… and your scarf, that's as close as it can be to a goodbye suicide letter… what were you thinking?" he was now resting on her lap, both of them were on the floor and he felt her tears falling on his face.

"I'm sorry Luce" she hissed and cradled his face again so he would look directly at her "Stop saying you are sorry! You are not! And you know it. After all this time, you thought it was a good idea to tell me you… to say that to me over a letter! Without giving me an opportunity to say it back to you…" She immediately noticed the words leaving her mouth without her brain's permission.

"Say it back? W-what are you…" Memories of the letter came flowing back to his head, he was so out of himself at that point he had forgotten what he wrote -Fuck fuck fuck fuck - "Do you… did you want to…" he gulped again "Say it back?"

Lucy was blushing for a full minute before Natsu pulled enough strength to get up from her lap. He brushed her cheek with his hand and turned her to look at him "Luce?" she took a deep breath and directed her eyes to his; she'd never seen such awesome, deep, and loving eyes before. They leaned to each other slowly before the train came to a full stop causing Natsu to get dizzy, and accidentally pull her to the floor with him.

He felt like his stomach was going to explode but the current situation was too important for him to care. They were both on the ground, she had landed above him, and both were blushing while staring at each other, before the compartment door opened up.

"We are h...home" Mira was staring at them with an excited look on her face "Well… this is more like what I was expecting! But you guys should have waited for us to get home!"

"M-Mira! This is not… we weren't!" the takeover mage giggled and covered her mouth with her hand "Sure thing Lucy… if you say so…" She left the door open to reveal the small group behind her, which consisted of Gray, Juvia Gajeel, Levy, and Happy who didn't take long to tease them.

"You liiiike each other!"

"Go Lu-Chan!"

"Juvia wishes you the best former Love-rival!"

They both managed to stand up quickly and raised their hands to try to explain, but every word they said fell on empty ears. They walked back to the guild, Natsu kept breathing in to remember every scent he had missed, he thought he would never be able to come back to the city, and it was all overwhelming.

Lucy noticed his mind drifting, and grabbed his hand; he smiled sweetly at her before entwining their fingers while they walked back to the guild.

"Why is she holding his hand?"

"Oi! You are loud and annoying… shut up" Merryl gave Gajeel an angry look "You can't tell me to shut up! He is in a vulnerable state and that witch is taking advantage of him"

Levy laughed loudly at the statement "Oh like you weren't planning on doing that! Come on, you can't be that blind, they make sense together"

"She will never understand him, they are not good for each other and one day you'll see it too"

"Oh… and you think you are good for him?"

"I do, I've seen him at his worst, damn it! I've taken his worst"

"That doesn't mean you are good for him" Levy shook her head, but before she could continue Gajeel interrupted "Nah, that's just means you are fucking crazy, and a masochist…" Merryl squealed in annoyance and walked away from the group.

They arrived to the guild and Natsu stood in front of the doors carefully observing them "What's on your mind?" He looked at Lucy's fingers tangled with his, then back at her face "I...didn't think I would come back home" She smiled and squeezed his hand "Well… welcome home Natsu". They walked hand in hand to be received by cheers and victorious screams, after all Fairy tail was everything but quiet.

The yelling became louder and louder before Makarov took his rightful place above the bar "SILENCE YOU BRATS!" from one second to the other the cheers died down to a whisper before total silence took over.

"Today is a joyous day! Today we celebrate the return of a son! A friend and a brother!" He gave them a proud look "Let this teach us that we are all strong individuals, but our true strength comes from our united efforts to stay together!" people cheered again before Makarov raised his hand to ask for silence one more "We were close to losing people we care about deeply, this should teach us to treasure each moment. We are mages that will always stare at danger in the eye, and the risk is always great, however, while we live a life of danger, the reward, relationships and experience we accumulate will follow us throughout our lives! However short of long they may be! NOW LETS CELEBRATE THE ONLY WAY FAIRY TAIL KNOWS HOW!"

The guild erupted back to cheers, drinks were being delivered left and right and the environment was of pure happiness. Makarov walked on top of the bar, towards Natsu and Lucy who were occupying two bar stools.

"Now you two… I meant every word I said, but let me be clear! If you ever scare me like that again, I'll beat you up to a pulp! Is that clear?"

"AYE!" both mages responded in unison. Makarov left to enjoy himself while observing all his children, he knew he would never get tired of this no matter how old he got.

"Natsuuu!" Happy flew right on top of his head and slapped his forehead lightly "Dammit, is that becoming a thing now!?"

"You are being weird… maybe it's because Lucy is so close!" He was back to his usual snickering now that he had his two best friends back together "Natsu you promised!"

"I… why don't we do it later? Wouldn't want to interrupt a party, would you?"

"I don't care! A promise is a promise!" Natsu rubbed his chin "Ok, how about… we get a HUGE fish for you first?" Happy started drooling, but quickly shook his head and slapped Natsu again "Nuh uh! I know what you are trying to do! You are going!"

"Wait, what did he promise?" The blue exceed left his place and flew to the counter, he looked at Natsu who shook his head a little, pleading his silence; he frowned with an angry face before looking at Lucy.

"He promised he would let Wendy look at his injury, It's still…"

"Happy! Shut it!" Lucy gave Natsu a stern look before pointing at Happy "Speak cat!"

"It's still bleeding, I saw it the day at the Inn and he promised we would let Wendy know as soon as we came back!"

"Tsk… Damn it, what are friends for?!"

"Oh no! You are not blaming this on him! He is only worried about you. Now get your ass up...NOW"

He flinched a bit, Lucy was mad at him again; he stood up slowly and got closer to her face "Listen, I really don't want Wendy to see it"

"She is tougher than what you give her credit for, and much more grown up. Anyways, I'm not letting this go, so…" She signaled Natsu to walk and he rolled his eyes, which earned him yet another slap.

"Hey Wendy!"

"Lucy! What's up?"

"We were wondering if you could take a look at Natsu's injuries."

She smiled and nodded, however Natsu could tell the look she gave him was different than before, "Let's go to the infirmary" they walked behind the bluenette until they reached their destination, when she signaled Natsu to sit "Ok, let me see"

It was definitely something he didn't want to do, he never had an issue with being shirtless, hell he had no issue with nakedness at all. This was different; he felt a weird mix of emotions about the injuries his body had sustained; one was shame, this was prove that he could be weak and powerless. The other was one he was confused about, he knew the emotion well but it didn't make sense for him to feel that way, so he decided to disregard it for now and think about it later.

Lucy was confused to say the least, she still had all the access she needed to Natsu's internal turmoil without him being aware, and that small emotion Natsu quickly put away was clear to her. She couldn't name the emotion, it was too confusing to do so, but she knew then and there that he felt he had deserved what happened, and that he thought that punishment was not enough for what he had done.

Natsu removed his shirt slowly revealing the open wounds on his torso and back along with more than a few bruises that Lucy didn't remember.

"These look worse than before…"

"Hmm, I can heal most of it, but it will still scar. The one on the back is deeper… what happened?"

"Er… he got knife happy…"

Wendy raised her hands and a soft light started emanating from them, he immediately felt the pain leaving his body and took a deep calming breath. Once they were done, the council's symbol and the wording on his back was still there, but there was no more bleeding and the pain was much more manageable.

"Lucy, can you give me a minute with Natsu?" She bit her lip and nodded, she would have preferred not to leave them alone, but the determination on the young Dragon Slayer's eye was enough to make her accept. She left the room and closed the door behind her but stayed outside to wait for her friends.

"So… what's up Wendy?" He gave her a big smile, but he noticed she didn't respond to it; she was stoic and staring at him in a way she had never before. She looked older now, he didn't even notice when it happened.

"I'm going to ask you something, and I'm going to ask just once" He gulped and nodded, waiting for her to continue, "Before it all went down… Lucy came in with an injury to her arm… it was bad Natsu; it smelled like fire, blood, and dragon…"

Natsu's eyes widen, of course, he knew what she was talking about. He shut his eyes -How stupid can I be, of course Wendy knows about it… Lucy doesn't have a scratch on her- "I…"

"I know you did it… my question is why? I know you weren't yourself, and you were struggling, but I can't imagine you hurting Lucy, not even in this situation"

"I wasn't trying to hurt her! Wendy come on, I would never!" -Nope, that's a lie… you've hurt her plenty

"Ok, you would never, then why did you?"

Images of that night started flashing in Natsu's head, her hot breath on his mouth, her legs wrapped around his waist, the sensations flooding his body at feeling her touch; then he remembered the blood and flinched.

"I… got carried away…"

"You got…? What in Mavis' name do you mean!?"

-How the hell do I explain this to Wendy…? God Dammit! - "Er… I was… trying to show her how much I wanted her to… stay?" The teenager blinked a couple of times "I don't get how you telling her to stay ended up with her bleeding"

"I didn't say I told her… I said… I tried to show her" He made an awkward face, and stared at her, hoping she would get the point already, he cleared his throat and half smiled at her.

She tilted her head and observed him, she noticed him blushing a bit, and then she started blushing too "Oh… you… you...OH…" he immediately noticed she was taking things too far in her mind "OI! Nothing like that, Geez Wendy… I just… " He sighed and looked down "I just kissed her… a bit too much probably, and I lost it Wendy…"

She nodded and sat next to him "Do you… love her?" he stared at her with a surprised look -When did she grow up so much - "I… do, but right now there's too much to figure out, you know?". He didn't want to lie to Wendy, he knew exactly why he couldn't move forward right now, but he couldn't tell her a thing "I'm just not sure how long I'll be able to stay"

"Well, I think with everyone's help, you will be fine… but let's think for a minute that things won't be ok… let's say you had only a week to be here; shouldn't you take advantage of the time you have with her? I mean… if I only had a day to live freely, I'd like to spend it with the person I love the most, wouldn't you?"

-Ok… this is getting weird… I'm being schooled by a toddler! ok she ain't a toddler but anyways… - He wanted, no, he needed to get out of this conversation and thought about the best way to do so "OH… and who may that be Wendy?" He smirked at her and gave her a small nudge when he noticed her face growing redder "If there's someone that caught your eye, as an unofficial big brother I should know"

"IDON'TKNOWWHATYOUARETALKINGABOUT, I AM LATE FOR SOMETHING! BYE!" Wendy left the room quickly and Natsu laughed loudly, yeah, some things never changed.

* * *

Lucy was waiting outside of the room, she was leaning on the wall and felt a sharp pain in her heart, but it was different, it wasn't her pain, but his, that's when she heard him in her head.

-How stupid can I be, of course Wendy knows about it… Lucy doesn't have a scratch on her-

She knew what the conversation was about now, she felt his regret and sadness and it made her soul hurt.

-Nope, that's a lie… you've hurt her plenty.

She whispered to herself, knowing if her thoughts were left in her head he would be able to hear her too, she wasn't ready for him to know "He would never hurt me; I don't blame him, why would he blame himself?"

All of a sudden she felt a tingling feeling in her stomach, her temperature rose and she remembered the day she walked in to find him in her apartment; his mouth was so warm, and his lips were softer than what she imagined them to be; she blushed and placed her hands on her cheeks and shook her head.

-How the hell do I explain this to Wendy…? God Dammit! "Oh don't you dare explain that to Wendy, Natsu"

She was about to kick the door open when a different image invaded her mind, Natsu was standing inside an office with black and white square floors, facing a big wooden desk, and a huge stained glass window. The man in front of him was non other than the highest council member Shiro Mahotsu.

She couldn't make sense of the conversation, it was so scattered, the sound was almost muffled; she was able to get pieces here and there.

\- Remove Makarov - Execution - She tried to focus on Shiro's lips since she couldn't hear him, she was almost sure her name and Gajeel's were brought up at some point. -Destruction - Deal -

That's when it hit her, he was still keeping secrets, this was not over and he was still carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Before she could get too tangled in her own concerns, a feeling of love invaded her heart, not hers, but his… she was overwhelmed by how big this feeling was and she just stayed silent embracing it.

The door burst open when Wendy ran out of the room, and she heard Natsu laughing.

"What did you do to poor Wendy!?"

"Nothing! She asks too much, so I asked back" he gave her one of his big smiles, an honest one this time "Hey Luce… can we… go somewhere? I think we have some stuff to talk about"

"I think we do to…"


	23. Inevitable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Although Natsu had suggested for Lucy and him to have the conversation he soon found himself avoiding it, he wasn't sure of what he had to do. Of course, she wouldn't let him get away for it for too long and what had started as one of the most awkward moments of their relationship made way for what they both really wanted. 
> 
> PS. STILL hate summaries :3 hope y'all have an awesome week

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Kiddos! so, thanks to Nenley again for proof reading before I post this, I've had lots of work and in addition to this, working on Ch 32 of this fic plus working on the new one BUT it is all worth it.
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> "We all want love. We all need love. And no matter how much we push it away or pretend to deny ourselves of it, our hearts will always desire it."   
> ― Corey M.P., Hearts and Errors

She couldn't make sense of the conversation, it was so scattered, the sound was almost muffled; she was able to get a few pieces here and there.

_ \- Remove Makarov - Execution -  _ She tried to focus on Shiro's lips since she couldn't hear him, she was almost sure her name and Gajeel's were brought up at some point.  _ -Destruction - Deal - _

That's when it hit her, he was still keeping secrets, this was not over, and he was still carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Before she could get too tangled in her own concerns, a feeling of love invaded her heart, not hers, but his… she was overwhelmed by how big this feeling was and she just stayed silent embracing it.

The door burst open when Wendy ran out of the room, and she heard Natsu laughing.

"What did you do to poor Wendy!?"

"Nothing! She asks too much, so I asked back" he gave her one of his big smiles, an honest one this time "Hey Luce… can we… go somewhere? I think we have some stuff to talk about"

"I think we do…"

* * *

 

He was trying hard to get a reign on his emotions, he had accepted to himself that he loved her more than anything, but he was yet to decide what to do with the feeling. He had only been able to act upon it in dreams, those in which everything was perfect and where none of the horrible circumstances they had experienced existed… however, a thought crossed his mind… If none of those things happened would they have met? Would they be as bonded as they were?

He considered a second possibility, he felt he loved her but was it possible the bond through trauma was so deep that he confused the feelings? After all, he only thought about his feelings for Lisanna after her death.

If he considered it love, then it was a different kind of love than what he had experienced before. With Igneel he felt not only love but admiration, he was his father and role model, just as Makarov and Gildarts were after he left; with his comrades it was a love born out of loyalty, and comfort; but when it came to Lucy, he had been clueless for such a long time.

He knew the love he felt for her was different; yes, he felt loyalty, comfort, admiration, but his gut told him it was not the same; when she was not around, he felt a loneliness he had never felt before, he longed for her presence, he felt unease by her absence. Her scent, her touch, her smile… it was home.

It took him a long time to understand, and once he did, he laughed at himself and thought "Well, I guess I am as dense as they say" yeah, he had heard that before, not only to his face. Everyone knew Dragon Slayers had magnificent hearing, but they couldn't imagine how good it was. How could they know if they didn't have it, right?

He had always been considered naive and he was very aware, he even took advantage of it to get away with stuff, after all how could they be mad at him if he "didn't know better". Sure, he had never shown interest in the opposite sex aside from Lisanna, but with her it wasn't  _ that _ type of interest anyways, so, when they made fun of him for it, he just pretended he didn't understand.

He remembered the time he  _ really  _ started thinking about how he felt for Lucy.

* * *

 

_ He was playing with a fireball lying on one of the tables and drinking a beer when he overheard the conversation. _

" _ Yo, look at what Lucy is wearing today" Macao was basically drooling on the table, they were pretty far from Natsu but of course as soon as his partner's name was mentioned he started paying attention. _

" _ She looks so hot! Look at that short skirt… and that cleavage" Wakaba joined in the drooling almost leaving a small pool on the table. _

" _ Man, what I wouldn't give to have my hands on those long silky legs right now" _

" _ Like you would know what to do with all of that" _

" _ Oh, I would, if I had a chance, I would pin her against the wall and …" He didn't have a chance to finish before Natsu's fireball hit the wall behind him scorching his hair a bit. _

" _ Natsu! What the hell?" _

" _ Oh man! It slipped my hand, my bad!" he grinned and shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. _

_ After apologizing he observed his hands and thought to himself – Dammit… What the hell am I doing; nah I'm not doing something wrong, they can't say those things about Lucy! She is our comrade… No one should ever talk about her like that!...- He heard Lucy's name again and directed his attention to a different conversation. _

" _ Lu! That's a really cute outfit! Going somewhere?" _

" _ Uhm… yeah, I kind of have a date Lev" _

" _ OH! Do tell! Who's the lucky guy?" _

" _ Just a guy I met last week in the library" _

" _ Is he cute?" Lucy smiled at her friend "Oh yeah, he is blonde, hazel eyes, super tall! And he is also a literature professor" _

_ Levy squirmed on her chair "Looks and smarts! He sounds perfect for you!" _

" _ He is! I'm a bit intimidated by him… he is a bit older than me?" _

" _ Older?" Levy couldn't help but think of the guy being as old as Makarov "Lu! You can't date octogenarian!" _

" _ Oh relax! I didn't mean THAT old… He is 28…" _

" _ Well… that's still quite older than you; hmm he is probably… more experienced" _

" _ Yeah… but he looks like a nice guy you know? I don't think that's going to be a problem" _

_ For some reason Natsu felt his blood boil – Who the hell is this guy? Why do I not know about him! He's probably a fucking weirdo… tsk… Now come on what am I thinking… Luce is smart, she'll be alright… - He wasn't convinced, his blood kept boiling and he decided he would observe from a Lucy-kick safe distance just to make sure she was ok. _

_ The guy came to pick Lucy from her apartment around 8:30 at night and took her to a nice traditional restaurant across the Magnolia park. _

_ Ninja-Natsu crouched behind the bushes across the street, with his scarf around his head and acting as if he was about to use a powerful ninjutsu technique. He observed through the folds of his scarf to what seemed to be, a normal date. _

" _ She seems to be having fun" he felt a pain in his chest as the sadness made space in his heart "What's happening…why am I so upset about this? She is just laughing with him… I like it when she laughs, she has the best laugh" _

_ He noticed the guy dragged his hand slowly above the table until it reached hers and grabbed it softly, he saw her blush and look away in embarrassment; Natsu clenched his fists "He is just touching her hand! For crying out loud! I hold her hand all the damn time, f-friends do that… right?" The guy wouldn't let go of her, he rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand causing Natsu to feel fire in the pit of his stomach. _

_ The guy offered Lucy more wine, and Natsu saw her shaking her head and waving her hand "Duh! Of course she is not going to drink anymore you idiot! Lucy is a lightweight and she knows it" He pushed the bottle above her glass and filled it up anyways, and she just bowed and smiled. _

_ She was smart, but raised with too much politeness to object, so, she took her glass and drank it "Seriously, you are so dumb Luce! That guy is going to end up carrying you home" It took about half a minute of that sentence echoing inside his big head before he realized why that sounded wrong "Oh hell no, he ain't carrying her home!" _

_ Yeah, everyone assumed Natsu was clueless in all intimacy matters, and they were half right; he had no certainty on how things really went, but he knew the general stuff; that put together with having excellent hearing, and accidentally listening to conversations that were everything but kid friendly, along with a couple of people hooking up in the storage closet at the guild which he hadn't been able to tune out, gave him a pretty clear idea on what could happen; no, he was definitely not going to let that man carry Lucy home. _

_ Soon enough the guy got the bill and paid up; they walked outside the restaurant where he offered his arm, and she took it giggling. Natsu could tell she was tipsy, but not drunk "Ok, time to follow along" _

_ Natsu followed closely and saw Lucy walking on the edge of the river "Well, if she falls at least she'll sober up…". She was very close to falling when the guy wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her safe; Natsu clenched his jaw "Fuck… " he felt that fire in the pit of his stomach again and he growled a little causing both objectives to turn, thankfully he was able to hide himself. _

_ They were finally at the door from Lucy's apartment in Strawberry street "Say goodnight Luce… say goodnight" _

_ He focused on listening to their conversation "Well, this was fun! We… should do it again sometime?" _

" _ Of course, how do you feel about breakfast?" _

" _ Well, I'm not much of a morning person" she blushed a bit "But as long as it's not super early" _

_ He laughed and removed the hair from her face, "I was actually thinking about cooking it for you, once we wake up" _

_ She gave him a puzzled look "Ahm… I told you, I'm not a morning person; I rather we saw each other in the afternoon" She knew exactly was he was offering but decided to play dumb. She thought any half decent guy would be embarrassed and laugh it up. _

" _ Well then I'll wake up and wait for you to do the same" He grabbed her by the nape and pulled her towards him; she placed her hands on his chest and pushed "Hey! What the hell?" _

" _ Oh, come on! You know you’re dying for me to come upstairs and rip that skimpy outfit off" _

" _ I think you better go" She was still pushing him, but he didn't budge "Let go!" _

" _ How about I don't? Why would you dress like that if you didn't want me to go upstairs, uhm?" He pulled harder to bring her closer to him "Plus, you still owe me for dinner missy, and I'm not leaving empty handed…" Lucy gave him an angry look and reached for her keys, but before she got them, she saw a fiery flash getting closer; in a matter of seconds her date was slammed against the floor. _

" _ Natsu!" _

" _ How dare you! Her clothes are not an invitation you moron!" he was furious, that idiot had gone on a date with his Lucy! The sweetest, most kind-hearted person he knew, and he had dared to disrespect her. _

" _ She said let go!" He walked to the guy who was still on the floor and stepped on his gut "How many fucking times does she need to ask you to leave her alone!" Natsu grabbed him by the collar of his shirt to lift him from the ground and punched him in the face causing him to fall again. _

" _ I'm sorry! I-I'll leave!" Natsu puffed some smoke from his mouth "Oh you ain't leaving now! I'm all fired up!" he grabbed him again when he felt a soft hand touching his arm "Just… let him go" _

" _ No" _

" _ Natsu…" _

" _ But Luceee!" he turned enough to see the tears in her eyes and forced himself to calm down "Tsk… GO! And if I ever see your face again you’re going to eat through a straw for the rest of your life!" he let go of the shirt with a push causing the scared man to stumble, he ran so fast he left a smoke screen behind him. _

_ Natsu turned around and hugged Lucy tightly "Are you ok?" She nodded into his chest and hugged him back. She stayed like that for a few minutes taking comfort in his natural warmth. _

" _ Ok… I g-guess I'm leaving now… go get some rest ok? Why don't we pick a mission tomorrow? I'm sure you’re short on rent money" In his clumsiness he thought acting normal would make her feel better. She smiled but grabbed his vest "C-could you stay for a bit? _

_ They went upstairs, Lucy boiled some water for tea and sat on the couch with him, she was still holding her tears back. _

" _ I'm so stupid… why would anyone want something serious with me…" _

" _ Hey!" He pulled her to his chest and rubbed soothing circles on her back "You are not crazy… w-why wouldn't someone want to date Luce?" _

" _ Come on! You said it yourself! Even your stupid cat says it! I'm spoiled, and stupid, and weak!" Yeah, drunk Lucy had two moods only, extremely happy or extremely sad. _

_ He held her shoulders and push her to face him "You are spoiled! But you are also kind, and generous, and talented! And so smart and…" He stopped, his heart was beating faster now, he was sweating, and his mouth felt dry "Y-you also ahem" he lost his words for a second, he wanted to tell her she was beautiful, perfect, amazing, but he stumbled on his own tongue "You h-have pretty hair… and all" _

_ She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder "I guess I have bad taste in guys uh?" _

_ He giggled "Nah, you just trust people too much Luce, that's who you are… you always see the best in people. Remember the day we met?" _

" _ How could I not! You guys almost ate my money away" she laughed "And you also saved me from that horrible man, and burned the town in the process" _

" _ Well that's what we do Luce! We eat and burn stuff" He gave her a half grin which she couldn't see since she was still resting on his shoulder "But you do that so well Natsu!" She chuckled and cuddled a bit more next to him leaving her mouth dangerously close to his neck, causing him to shiver a little. _

" _ You ok?" he gulped and tried to keep his voice steady "Yeah, yeah, just… t-ticklish" she giggled once more before poking his stomach "Ticklish? Really?" _

" _ Don't you dare" He tighten his grip around her to immobilize her and was met with no resistance whatsoever. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Natsu noticed her steady breathing "Are you sleeping weirdo?" The lack of response was his answer. _

_ He nuzzled her head and was greeted by Lucy's scent – Vanilla and lavender… She smells so nice…Dammit! What am I doing… She has always smelled like that, hasn't she? Why is it so intoxicating all of the sudden? - _

_ Lucy nuzzled his neck accidentally pressing her body towards him, revealing her cleavage -Oh boy…I'm in trouble, she's going to wake up and Lucy-kick me all the way to the guild- _

_ He gently moved the arm that had been resting on her back towards the back of her neck and crossed his other arm behind her knees to pick her up; he lifted her gently to take her to the bed and took a minute to observe her. In his eyes she was perfect, her golden hair was sprawled on the pillow, her lips slightly parted, her skin was like the most expensive silk; she was loyal, honest, and her heart was so big that a complete dimension would fit in it. _

_ He rubbed his temples in confusion; he couldn't explain it, when he tried to put it into words it sounded ridiculous to him. He always thought it felt like if a balloon was inside his chest and every time he looked at her, air expanded that balloon until it was too big to hold inside his chest and it soon invaded his throat. _

_ Natsu took another moment to consider his actions, the way he got upset, how protective he was of her; hell, he even followed her during her date; which now that he was thinking about it, sounded kind of creepy. He thought about how angry he got when other guys would make nasty comments about her body. Voices filled his head, Happy constantly teasing him about liking her, Mira and her obsession with getting them together, Cana, Levy, even Lisanna. He thought about the douche she went out with today and got angry again…he didn't want anyone to touch her… anyone but him? _

_ -Fuck… am I? in love with Lucy?…- _

Before he knew it, they were at the door of Lucy's place in Strawberry Street; he had been so lost in his thoughts that he had walked there automatically. Lucy was fumbling with the keys nervously when he remembered the purpose of the visit was to talk, and he suddenly felt anxious about the situation.

"Y-you know what, I should probably take care of some other stuff first… so why don't we leave this for later?"

"Stuff? What stuff?"

"I… need to go see Porlyusica! To talk about avoiding the dreams"  _ -I'm a fucking genius! – _

Lucy knew he was avoiding the situation, and decided she wouldn't stand it "Ok, so let's go"

"Nah! I can go by myself, and I… will catch up with you later, ok?" He smiled widely as he commonly did, but his smile soon faded with her response.

"No"

"W-what?"

"You heard me... You've been away for months, and I refuse to leave your side, so we either go inside and talk, or we go to Porlyusica… together" Lucy got ahold of one of her golden keys "Open gate of the maiden, Virgo!"

"Princess, I'm ready for my punishment" Lucy rolled her eyes and pointed at Natsu "The stray dog wants to run away… could you?" He blinked twice and before he knew it, a chain from the spirit world was around his wrist.

"Would that be all princess?"

"Yes, Thanks Virgo!"

"Lucy this is not fair! You know I can't use my magic to get rid of it!" She stuck her tongue out "Precisely"

"Grrr….FINE!" he raised his hands in frustration; Natsu knew when Lucy was determined to get her way with something, there was little he could do to change her mind.

He grudgingly walked dragging his feet all the way to the old healer's home. He didn't dislike the woman, but he hated to be hit on the head with a broom; still he knew this was a problem he had to resolve.

As expected as soon as they knocked on the door, the pink-haired woman opened with a broom in hand.

"You smelly humans! What are you doing here! Go away" she pounced with her broom at full speed, which both mages dodged effectively.

"Porlyusica, please! We need your help!" Lucy said in the most pleading tone she could.

"Do you have any broken bones?"

"No…"

"Are you bleeding?"

"No, but…"

"Is anyone dying?"

"No! but we really…"

"Then get off of my property!"

This time when she tried to hit them, Natsu caught it with one hand and stared right at her "I really do need your help; you… heard about what happened?"

"Mhm, yes… I did… You kids are always causing problems for that old fool"

"I need your help, so I don't cause him more trouble, ok?"

She looked at him and clenched her teeth "Fine!" She walked inside without inviting them in, and they knew that was as much of an invitation as they were going to get.

They sat down and Natsu explain his problem in general, from the council's prohibition, to the problem controlling his magic while sleeping; to make a clear point out of it he had to explain what had happened with Gajeel when this all started. Lucy listened carefully during that part, she was away when it happened, so she didn't know all the details about it; she noticed the pain and regret in his heart as he told the story.

"I see…" Porlyusica stood up and walked to her book shelf to retrieve a big, heavy and old looking book; she cleaned the red leathery cover with her hand and opened it, tracing the words with her finger and mumbling incoherent thoughts until she found what she was looking for "Hmm"

"WHAT!? Could you please stop mumbling to yourself!"

"NATSU! Be patient, you don't yell at people after you asked for help!"

"Buuuut Luuuuceeee!"

"Alright then…" they both turned to Porlyusica who gave them an annoyed look "I can make a potion that will stop you from dreaming" they both started to smile when she raised her hand asking for their patience "but, it's risky… you would be taking yourself out of the dream world, and that comes with a price… you won't rest the same, so yes, it would be sufficient for your survival but not for you to recover"

"But… that's not a big deal, is it? I mean half the time I don't remember any of my dreams"

"The fact that you don't remember doesn't mean they aren't there. It is usually risky for a regular human; In theory, if you were at your best you could do this without an issue maybe for a month and probably not even … but since you can't use magic or consume magic… also who knows the type of strain you put in that body for the past few months… "

"I don't get it, what's the big deal?"

Porlyusica slapped him behind his head "Seriously! You won't rest, you won't eat fire, you won't recover what you are already missing… it's a recipe for disaster! You could go mad!"

He thought about it for a second "N-no… I don't think so, I've done that before…"

The old healer gave him an angry look and crossed her arms "And how did that work out?"

He shivered… of course he knew how that worked out; he had blood in his hands, he hurt his friends and almost lost control of himself going so deep he thought he wasn't going to be able to come back; he had been mean to Happy, he had injured Lucy; the list could go on…

"I'm also concerned about how things could change, you see whether or not you remember your dream, it sticks deep inside you, and it could potentially affect your decisions"

"Ok, ok, I get it, it is dangerous… but still… I don't think we have a choice if we consider the alternative"

She sighed, "It'll take me at least a day and a half to make enough for 2 weeks, we'll go from there… until then you'll have to find a way to stay awake"

Both Natsu and Lucy visibly gulped, they were exhausted both physically and mentally; they were taken out of their thoughts by an angry yell "Now get off of my property! I don't want to see your faces until tomorrow evening!"

They ran out of the house before being hit on the head with a broom and only stopped once they felt there was a safe distance between them and the scary old woman. "So… how are we going to keep you awake?"

"We? Nah don't worry about it… I'll figure something out"

"Oh please… you need my help and you know it, plus we still have that pending conversation that you are obviously trying to avoid…" She held her hands on her back and smiled at him as she often did; he got nervous all of the sudden, his palms started sweating before he gave her a shy smile "S-sure, why don't we go grab some food first? I'm starving"

"You know what Natsu? Do whatever you want… I'm done chasing you around" she removed the chain from his arm and turned on her heel when he grabbed her wrist "Hey! What the hell's the matter with you?"

"You!" He gave her a confused puppy look and she sighed "You need to choose… you either want me to stay or leave Natsu, but you can’t decide for me to patiently wait for you at a safe distance… what's it going to be?"

He flinched, he didn't know what the right choice was yet and there he was being forced into figuring stuff out on the go; but then again… didn't he always?

"Ok, we'll talk then…"

The walk back to Lucy's house was quiet, things were awkward, and he knew it was his fault. Things had been so great on the train, aside from the awful feeling of the motion sickness, she was there making him feel better and now he was sure she felt strongly about him too; how did they go from being so incredibly comfortable to barely being able to say a word in a matter of hours?

Once more they were at the door from Lucy's apartment in Strawberry street, but this time she didn't fumble with her keys; she was determined to get this done and nothing was going to stop it from happening.

She walked to the bed and sat there, resting her back on the wall, while he leaned on the door with his arms crossed above his chest, still tangled in his own thoughts.

"So…" Lucy tapped her fingers on the bed, clearly getting impatient "What did you want to talk about?" she noticed he stiffened but the only response was silence, she could hear him going over the possibilities inside his head, thinking about everything that could go wrong.

"I missed you…" Natsu was startled by the comment, but couldn't avoid his lip from curling upward "I… missed you too Luce"

"Why have you been so… far?"

"Well, I was away… what do you mean?" He of course knew what she was referring to, how could he not? But he was still indecisive on where to take this conversation; on one end Wendy was right, he should take advantage of their time together, on the other, he wasn't sure he would be strong enough to let go of her if needed…

"Geez… I mean… far… since before you left you kind of… you know"

"Oh… I was trying to figure some stuff out" He took a big breath and rubbed the back of his head "I guess I still am"

"Why do you always want to deal with everything by yourself? I mean… isn't the purpose of being partners to be able to balance the weight?"

"Of course, but… I…it's not… the same"

"Oh, is that so?" Lucy was very annoyed by his answer, it reminded her a lot to the situation the rest of the females dealt with at the inn with Gajeel and the boys "Because I'm a woman, weak, or because your continuous need to prove you are the best of the best makes you too weak to ask for help?"

"Woohoo calm down a bit! I ain't weak, I didn't need help"

"Inability to ask for help sounds like a weakness to me" they were both irritated, neither being able to understand why the other was so stubborn. "Can I ask you something?" he nodded  "After what you pulled, what in Mavis' name made you think I wasn’t going to learn about your visit to the council, and let it be?"

"I… don't know, I wasn't thinking straight I guess" If he really thought about it, the idea was stupid, even if he had timed everything perfectly which he almost did, he should have known the guild wouldn't let him die.

"So… you weren't in your right mind when you wrote the letter?"

"Look… I know I made you worry, and I'm sorry about the letter Luce… I really am, I just thought that was the only thing I could do to keep you safe. A-are we good now?"

She nodded then shook her head, which only caused Natsu to get more confused. Lucy crawled until the foot of the bed to retrieve her backpack and took the letter out "Are you sorry about everything in the letter?" her lips tensed into a thin line. He knew what she was talking about.

"Luce…" She stomped her foot and held the letter higher "Don't Luce me! Are you?"

He tensed his muscles and clenched his fists in frustration "What do you want me to say?" She stayed quiet, observing him expectantly "Luce… I… thought I was going to die"

"Oh" her eyes got watery and she felt a pain deep within her heart "So, it was a thing of the moment then?"

_ \- What am I going to do…-  _ Natsu remembered the night he had clawed Lucy's arm, that day she had made a decision in the same room they were standing in, she had decided to hurt him in order to keep him safe, despite it making her miserable  _ -I'm so sorry Luce… I love you too much to drag you down…- _

"I shouldn't have said it ok? It was a mistake" Lucy's face became red in anger; or course she knew what he was doing, she could hear his internal struggle, but that didn't mean the words didn't hurt "A mistake? You…you said you loved me and now that is a mistake!?" her hands were shaking uncontrollably, and she felt her stomach burning.

"It was, I already said I shouldn't have said that" He knew this conversation was bound to happen, but he hoped he had more time. It happened so quickly that it caught him off guard.

"You are lying again! When will the lies end Natsu?"

"Oi! I never lie!"

"Another lie! You are the biggest liar in Magnolia!"

"Why would you even say that Luce! When have I ever lied to you?"

"Choosing to avoid the truth is a form of lying Natsu"

"That's not the same!"

"Oh, I'm sorry! You thought not telling your best friend you were constantly dreaming about killing her wasn't lying? What about when the scales started? Or the real reason you didn't want me to leave, OH I KNOW… how about telling me about your little alone time with that red headed Kraken?!"

"I don't… What do you want me to do huh?" He was getting frustrated, he wanted to grab her, hug her, and never let her go; to tell her it would all be ok, but how could he… that would be a lie; he didn't even know how much time he would have. "Did you want me to crawl into your lap like a child because of a nightmare, or maybe tell you that risking your life to rewrite by book was useless… and Merryl… I was going mad, I felt alone and angry… What do you want me to say?"

"I want you to be honest!" she rubbed her temples and whispered, but she knew well that he could hear her well "Honest about your year away… about how you feel about Z… about your  _ brother _ " Natsu cringed when hearing the word, his brother had given AND taken all and he still didn't know how he felt about that "about when you are sad, and tired and when you don't feel like smiling…"

He turned and rested his forehead on the door, he didn't say a thing. Has it always been obvious for her? Was it obvious for the rest of his friends?

"Are you saying you don't love me?" She knew he did, she felt it with their new-found connection; she was testing him. He took a deep breath against the door, turned quickly and stared right at her "I don't" he felt his heart being pierced as he pronounced the words, and she felt his pain too.

"Then why go through all the trouble Natsu? If you don't care about me that way, then you should have let me marry Fukuro instead of killing him!" Lucy knew she had made a mistake as soon as the words left her mouth. His face twisted in pain; he didn't regret killing him but taking someone's life was never something easy to do and was something that would cause one's soul to break into pieces.

"Is that what you wanted?! You probably miss the life, right princess? Is that what you need to be happy?" His words stung; Natsu knew that the one thing she hated was to be seen as the heiress she was; and she knew he was trying to hurt her.

"No, you idiot…" He slammed his hand on the wall "Then what!? You weren't happy in your precious mansion, you weren't happy when I didn't want you to go, you weren't happy about what I did to help! What the fuck do you want Lucy?!"

"YOU!" He fell silent, his breath got caught in his lungs and his eyes widen "I want you… is that so hard to understand?"

"You… don't Luce, you don't mean that… I'm may be your best friend, but anything other than that I'll be bad at Luce… I'm bad for you, can't you tell?"

"So, make up your damn mind! Is it because you are bad for me, or because you don't love me?"

He was trapped, Natsu was bad with words and his lies caught up with him; he tried to push her away, to hurt her, and she was still standing "Dammit…Look… I…don't… I'm telling you it was a mistake"

"Why?" She was getting tired of his attitude, there she was wearing her feelings on her skin, while he couldn't even look at her.

"Why wouldn't it be? It's a mistake because I can't be with you, so troubling you with that was stupid" He turned around and saw her sad face, it broke his heart to see her cry, but being the cause of it was so much worse "It doesn't matter how I feel Luce… I still can't…"

She closed the gap between the bed and door and cradled his face "Don't… I love you too, stupid dragon" Natsu tried to push her away, but she wouldn't budge, and he didn't want to injure her again. The pushing slowly faded, and he ended up rubbing her shoulders gently, he couldn't keep his emotions in check anymore "it hurts Luce…"

"Then tell me where it hurts, and I'll make it go away" She brushed her thumbs on his cheeks before Natsu looked down and rested his hand on his chest. Lucy moved his hand away and pressed her lips above his heart "There, is that better?" her smile disarmed him immediately, he had always loved how her smile would light up the darkest room.

He half smiled at her and shook his head "You are so dumb Luce… Geez, that was cheesy" She puffed her cheeks in annoyance "Oh! I'm the one being cheesy? Seriously the ’Let me confess my love before I go kill myself to save the princess" guy? That's such a cliché"

He laughed a bit and pulled her closer before getting serious again "I still can't do this Luce… that's why it hurts so much"

"Why can't you? There's nothing we can't do… Just… talk to me. We can be together; just promise you'll stay with me"

"That's the problem Luce… I… can't promise to stay forever…" Lucy remembered what she saw, the images of the council member and the deal she suspected meant things weren't quite over "Why?"

"I just can't, leave it alone ok?" he pushed her away and walked to the couch.

"You are still keeping secrets from me"

"Look, I just can't promise I'll stay forever! I can't promise I won't lie! Hell, I can assure you I'll have to"

"Fine!"

This is what he expected, Lucy was going to be angry at him and ask him to leave or kick him out the window as usual; he was waiting in silence for her response dreading the pain but also wishing it would happen… at least this way he could spare her from the events that still awaited him.

The moment didn't come; he snapped his head up when he heard her quiet whimpers and his heart broke once more when he saw her hugging herself as if containing the pain she felt within.

"Just… promise you'll stay today… and tomorrow you can do the same"

"Luce…"

"NO! I don't care ok? We'll deal with it… you don't have to lie"

"But I do…" She stared at him, she could feel his determination failing "You don't… Natsu, it's me… I trust you… just… it's ok if you can't tell me" She felt horrible; she was lying of course, he didn't have to say a thing, she just had to pay attention to his thoughts and try to keep hers from his mind, but if that was the way to keep him safe then she would do it.

"Luce… You don't want to live one day at a time… think about what you are saying…" she sat on the couch and grabbed his hands "As long as I get that one day with you… yeah, I'm willing to compromise" He was surprised to say the least "I'll hurt you…"

"And I'm sure I'll do the same"

"It's not the same Luce, I'm not good for you…"

"Why?"

"I'm just not… there's blood in my hands, demon in my veins, and don't get me started on what's in my head…"

"Stop trying to decide what's best for me, don't I get a say in it?"

"I… just want to keep you safe" He meant it, whatever happened to him was unimportant as long as she was alive and well.

"I won't be ok without you…no one is good for me but you, can't you see it?" He wanted to believe her, he really did. In a second Lucy's face stiffen with determination "I already said you can't make a decision for me, you can't choose what's good for me…I chose you"

He held his breath, she was stunning like this… strong and confident; she had chosen him? How could someone so wonderful choose someone like him?

"Look, I was broken, and you helped put me back together, why won't you let me do the same?"

"Pff I ain't broken, you crazy?" He crossed his arms and huffed in annoyance; yeah, he was a bit depressed and possibly traumatized, but his pride and ego were too big to admit it.

"You know… being broken doesn't mean you are weak. You are the strongest person I know, and you've been through so much… just… promise to stay, today…"

He hesitated a bit, but he knew her well… she was not going to let this go "Ok…I promise to stay… today" He rubbed her cheek with his thumb and soon they were both blushing; it was almost as if he has unable to remove his hand from her face.

Natsu started leaning over, but only managed to move a few inches closer, he was still nervous about everything. The last kiss they shared was all but romantic, it was full of pain, anger, and raw desperation; more importantly he wondered if it had really been him doing the kissing or if it was his demon instinct taking over.

She felt him hesitate and met him halfway. Lucy brushed his lips slightly with hers and they both felt as if a jolt of electricity run through their bodies, it was so little and so much at the same time.

It started as a chaste kiss, their lips barely moving while Natsu held the back of her head and she wrapped her arms around him; but as things advanced, the heat between them was too much to bear.

She pushed her tongue demanding access, and he gave it to her; he licked her bottom lip and scraped it with his canines; soon his hands went down to her waist, then her hips, until they landed on her tight. Without him noticing, his fingers brushed the skin below the hem of her skirt causing her to jump a bit.

He pushed a bit too much causing her to tilt her head, which exposed her soft neck; he couldn't stop himself from smelling it, the scent was so pure and strong that his instinct took over making him taste it; he licked from her collar bone to her jaw making her shiver; the sound she made moving unlocked something primal within him. He grabbed the back of her head and pulled to the side to kiss the point where her neck met her shoulder causing her to moan.

Lucy was not able to think straight, everything in her body felt like liquid fire; her emotions and thoughts were mixed with his and it was almost too much for her, but she couldn't pull away, she didn't want to. She ventured her hands to his chest and traced the line of every muscle; he was surprised by how something so small could feel so good.

She kept tracing more to the south every time until she reached his waistband; they pulled apart to get some air, both panting from their recent activity. Widen eyes, swollen lips, and a small coat of sweat on their foreheads.

"T-that was…ahem…" he was blushing while trying to catch his breath when she rested her forehead on his "Perfect… it was, perfect" she gave him a small peck on the lips.

"I thought I wasn't going to be able to stop Luce… you need to be more careful with that" Lucy turn away from him and blushed.

She focused her attention on the small golden cord joining them together, that little force that had helped her hear, see, and feel what he did. "W-what if I d-didn't want you to?" she was suddenly washed away by the feelings her words had caused in him, burning passion, lust, love… which conflicted a lot with a rising concern and anger.

Lucy turned to face him again, his eyes were filled with a fire she had only seen during a challenging fight, he was panting a bit and he was grabbing the back rest of the couch so tightly Lucy was sure he was going to break it soon.

He jumped forward carelessly as he would in any battle; Natsu assaulted her mouth once more while his right hand fisted the hair on the back of her head, his left hand got ahold of the small of her back. Lucy felt his hot mouth push her down to the couch, and his left hand pulling her hips closer to him; in a few seconds she was lying down and he was resting above her running circles with his thumb on her hip bone.

"N-Natsu" Her voice made him shiver, he traced kisses from her chin to her collar bone, and then lower until he was about to reach the top of her breast; he stopped for a second and started breathing through his mouth "Mhn" The small sound Lucy made once she felt his breath touching her skin blew his mind completely and gave him several other ideas on what he would do to hear those sounds again.

He looked up to see her, panting, blushed face, and biting her lower lip… perfect. The hand which had been resting on her hip bone, slowly made its way up tracing her ribs and stopped just below her breast. Natsu licked the top of the soft mound while cupping it from below eliciting the sounds he was getting quickly addicted to.

Lucy instinctively grabbed the back of his head pulling him closer towards her while arching her back, her mind was swirling, and she couldn't put a word in front of the other. Natsu's right hand which had been patiently waiting, moved to her tight and without displaying the same hesitation of before, made its way underneath Lucy's skirt and landed on her ass giving it a firm squeeze.

"Luce…"

-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK-

The startling sound made Natsu role from the couch to land on the floor with a thud "Fuck!"

Lucy tried to catch her breath to sound as normal as possible "Who is it!?"

"Erza and Gray! We have come to check up on you"

Both Lucy and Natsu looked at each other in panic "Fuck, Fuck, fuck! Erza is going to kill me!"

"Shut up and get in the bathroom and come out in a minute or two" He moved quickly and closed the door trying to avoid making any sounds. Lucy fixed herself up as much as possible before opening the doors.

"Hey guys! What's up?"

Gray looked at her and raised his brow "We just came to ask if you wanted to have dinner at the guild, Mira is making something special… Are you ok? You look… weird"

"Indeed, you do Lucy, are you feeling ill?"

She waved her hand quickly and laughed "Of course not! I'm p-perfectly fine"

"Are you sure? you seem to be getting a rash of some sort" Erza pointed directly at Lucy's chest where the red marks were starting to become visible. A second later Natsu came out of the restroom "Yo! Ice- Prick! Erza! What's up?"

Gray looked at Natsu, then back at Lucy; his eyes traced the red spots on Lucy's front from her jawline to her chest, then he looked back at Natsu. There was an awkward silence before Gray covered his mouth and started laughing loudly "Erza she feels fine! Why don't you guys catch up with us back at the guild?"

Lucy was as red as Erza's hair, but she nodded and closed the door "That was close!"

"Yes, it was! I can only imagine what Erza would have done to me!" Natsu imagine himself inside a barrel while Erza pierced it with a thousand swords, before he shook his head and went back to reality "S-so… what now?"

Lucy rubbed her chin and then smiled at him "OK, so… I have one request, not negotiable…"

"Didn't know…girlfriends… were so demanding… " She smiled and tilted her head "Who said I was your girlfriend?" he almost looked offended "OI! Don't tease!" She giggled and covered her mouth. His demeanor had completely changed from the beginning of the conversation, it was a completely different Natsu now "Ok, so let's make a deal… you promised to stay today… so today I'm your girlfriend, same if you promise to stay tomorrow, sounds good?"

"I can live with that" He smiled at her, but this was a smile like no other; not his usual grin, nor his fake smile, this was cocky, happy, and confident smile.

"So… like I said…since I am your girlfriend now and you didn't even bother to ask me… I get one request, not negotiable"

"Anything you want Luce" She gave him a wicked smile "The devil's mistress is not allowed to touch you, is that clear?"

"Geez Luce, it’s not like I was going to let her"

"But you did, at some point" The comment left her mouth with enough poison to melt his face "Luce… I" she stopped him "I don't care, so you… did whatever you did with her, that's in the past. But this is now, and I don't want her touching anything of mine"

Natsu gave Lucy a cocky smile "Oh… didn't know I was yours" he wrapped his arms around her again "Ok, whatever you want. I do need to clarify we didn't do anything… nothing like what you are thinking"

"Fine… anyways we need to get moving" She tried to stand up, but he pulled her closer "But I'm comfy…" she giggled and kissed his cheek "We need to go to the guild"

"I don't wanna… you are too… squishy… like a pillow"

She slapped his forehead "I am not squishy! Anyways, if we don't go Erza will come back… you wouldn't want that would you?"

"FINE…."

They made their way to the guild walking side by side, they held hands which seemed so weird and so natural at the same time. She looked up to the sky and smiled, she was happy… he was back, they were together, and he loved her; but the concerns in the back of her head of him not being able to stay and things not being over were still present.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard him inside her head:

_ -Dammit… now what?! Stupid! Stupid! You were supposed to let her go, not drag her down! Ok… calm down, things got a bit overheated… what now? … you can do this without fucking up… can you? - _

She giggled a bit which caused him to turn to her with a confused look "What's so funny?" she shook her head and waved her hand "It's just that you are kind of cute when you blush" she knew speaking her mind was a certain way of keeping him out of her head. When she said that, he blushed even more "I a-ain't blushing! It's just… hot outside"

"Right… January is a hot month" he pouted and crossed his arms above his chest "Whatever Luce…"

They stood at the doors of the guild, still holding hands when Natsu stopped her "Can we… not tell people yet?" Lucy frowned and pouted "Why?"

"Well… for one they'll make a big deal out of it, they'll butt in, gossip, and be annoying… we still have things to figure out; also, I just came back, and they all have a thousand questions to ask… I don't want to add another thousand just yet"

Lucy stopped breathing for a second, he was being the rational and sensitive person for once, and she was the one deciding to throw herself into battle without a second thought. She squeezed his hand and gave him a soft sweet kiss "Of course".

They walked inside the guild and made their way to the bar to order some lunch, Mira welcomed them with her sweet big smile as usual "You were gone for a long time…" Mira's eyes twinkled immediately at the possibilities.

Both Natsu and Lucy stood there like statues before Lucy reacted "Yeah… he is hungry… so…"

"Sure! What can I get for you?"

Natsu was about to fall into his usual habit of ordering one of each with a side of fire when he remembered and started pouting "Well… I guess whatever it's fine… just make it spicy. I'm going to talk to Gray for a bit ok?" he turned on his heel and walked away rapidly.

"YO! Happy!" The blue exceed immediately flew to him and crashed against his chest "Where have you been Natsu?" The Dragon Slayer scratched his head and smiled "Just had some stuff to talk about with Luce, but it's all good now"

"So, what did Wendy say about your injuries?"

"They'll scar… but it's ok bud, nothing to worry about"

"Can I see?" Natsu frowned and gave him a serious look, "I don't think this is the right place for that bud… but maybe when we go home later ok? Hey! Lucy is getting lunch for us, why don't you get some fish?"

His blue face lightened up with a big smile "AYE SIR!" he flew away straight towards Lucy.

"Ok… so…. What happened with Lucy?" Gray was smirking at him, Natsu took a seat and crossed his arms above his chest "None of your business Ice Princess, actually that's no one's business so could you keep it quiet? "

"And why would I do that?"

Natsu smirked, stood up and got close enough to whisper something in Gray's ear; the Ice Mage went pale immediately and gulped "A secret it is then!"

"You see that wasn't so hard was it?"

"That's blackmail Fire Breath!"

"What are you going to do about it Ice Stripper?!"

As soon as Natsu left to meet Gray, Lucy spotted Gajeel sitting with Levy and walked towards them "Hey Lev! Could I steal Gajeel for a second?"

"Sure Lu! As long as you bring him back"

Gajeel rolled his eyes but walked behind Lucy until they were outside of the guild "If I didn't want a Dragon Slayer to listen to the conversation, what would be a safe distance from the guild?"

"Hmm, follow me then" He walked towards the forest, not too far from the guild but enough distance for him not to listen to the loudest guild members "What's on your mind Bunny girl?"

"I need to ask you for a favor… I don't want Natsu to know about our connection… yet"

"Not that I give a shit about it, but you realize he is going to think he's gone mad?"

"I'll take care of that… I just need you to promise to keep it quiet"

"Fine, I won't tell… but you need to know something, if he doesn't know about it, and your bond gets too big for him to handle your fate will be tied to his… you'll be in danger"

She gave him a sweet smile and shook her head "My fate is already tied to his… "

 


	24. Calm before the storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy decides to figure out if Natsu and her are in fact bonded, and in order to do that she manipulated Gajeel into helping her. The Fire Dragon slayer and Celestial mage finally cave to their desire of closeness and love. 
> 
> PS - Yes... this note again... I hate summaries XD but I love you people who are reading *bows in apology*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Lemon ahead! Ok so in all honesty this is the first lemon scene I've ever written therefore I'm hoping with time I get better at it. I appreciate a story that reflects the reality of life... life is messy, sex is part of it and although I must admit this is a topic that is kind of out of my comfort zone one of my best friends encouraged me to do it thinking that it would be positive for me, and guess what -THAT WAS TOTALLY CORRECT- so anyways! sorry if it's not as good as it could, promise to get better at it.
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> "I cannot let you burn me up, nor can I resist you. No mere human can stand in a fire and not be consumed."  
> ― A.S. Byatt, Possession

 

As soon as Natsu left to meet Gray, Lucy spotted Gajeel sitting with Levy and walked towards them "Hey Lev! Could I steal Gajeel for a second?"

"Sure Lu! As long as you bring him back"

Gajeel rolled his eyes but walked behind Lucy until they were outside of the guild "If I didn't want a Dragon Slayer to listen to the conversation, what would be a safe distance from the guild?"

"Hmm, follow me then" He walked towards the forest, not too far from the guild but enough distance for him not to listen to the loudest guild members "What's on your mind Bunny girl?"

"I need to ask you for a favor… I don't want Natsu to know about our connection… yet"

"Not that I give a shit about it, but you realize he is going to think he's gone mad?"

"I'll take care of that… I just need you to promise to keep it quiet"

"Fine, I won't tell… but you need to know something, if he doesn't know about it, and your bond gets too big for him to handle your fate will be tied to his… you'll be in danger"

She gave him a sweet smile and shook her head "My fate is already tied to his…"

* * *

 

Gajeel looked at her with a baffled expression, "You don't know what you are saying, this is serious shit Lucy!" she wasn't used to him calling her by her actual name, so, when he did she took a small step back and stayed quiet while she got her thoughts together "You think you know the risk that both would be in, if what you are saying is true?"

"Of course I do! I know what's at stake here Gajeel, who do you take me for?"

"An idiot!" she stomped her foot and raised her finger in an accusatory manner but was immediately cut off by the angry Dragon Slayer "Seriously! Do you have an idea on how many enemies he has now? If what you are saying is true and someone was to find out…"

"Oh…" She cursed at herself, she was being stupid… if any of the dark guilds, enemies, demons or council wanted to take him down, and their fates were in fact entwined they only had to get to her in order to finish him "What would happen? If I die would that automatically kill him?"

"No, of course not… knowing Salamander…" He looked at her and sighed "Look he doesn't know any of this so I ain't tellin' ya shit… this is a Dragon thing so it's none of your business"

Lucy stood in front of him and did a sad attempt to push him back, which only managed to amuse him "Is that the best you got?".

Hot tears made her sight blurry, but she stood her ground; this wasn't the first time she had stood up to Gajeel Redfox and, taking into consideration that the first time had lots of pain involved, she wasn't going to let him intimidate her "This IS as much his business as it is mine! Listen to me metal breath… I need to know! I love him, and he loves me… I need to know"

"This ain't a conversation I want to have with you blondie! Drop it…"

"Oh, have you had it with Levy then?" He turned around and dragged his hands on his hair "HA! I knew it! You don't care about Natsu not knowing, you just don't want Levy to know-"

"YET! she knows some of it! I just don't want to talk about it… yet"

"Ok, so this makes it simpler… you can tell me and I can promise not to say a thing until you are ready to talk to her" she took her right hand to her hip, leaned over and raised a finger in front of his face "OR I can just make her real curious about it, so she will ask you and then wait for her to tell me about it… you know that won't take much effort"

Gajeel blinked a couple of times before grunting "I was wrong… MiraJane ain't the devil… you are. I thought you were above blackmail bunny girl" she smirked and tilted her head "Who said I was?"

He shook his head to try to clear his mind "Look I don't know much ok? You need to keep in mind that I may have been older but was still pretty young" Lucy nodded and signaled him to continue "As far as I know… it’s not as if… ok so if I hit him, it is not going to hurt you ok? But he could sense you are in danger and his senses will help him find you"

"So that seems pretty handy, I mean if nothing would happen to him if I get hurt, they why are you so worried?"

"I never said nothing would happen…" Gajeel sat on a rock and rested his elbows on his knees "For Mages… life force is tied to their magic, so… that's similar with all magical creatures… including Dragons; when they choose a mate their magic and life force gets tangled, it becomes their reason for existing… and if they lose their mate…"

"They lose the reason to be alive…"

"Yeah… so, it's a safe bet to say dragon slayers are similar in that way. He would probably go nuclear… turning every corner of the land to ashes, and after causing more destruction than what he could forgive himself for, he would just let death take him away…"

"He would never surrender"

"He's done it more than once" she frowned at him trying to make sense of what he was saying, maybe she just didn't want to see it "Shit you are dumb after all… ok so maybe he didn't "Let death claim him"… but what he did when he went to the council, how would you call that? He ain't that stupid, he knew they would kill him… how about knowing that killing his crazy ass brother would take him out?"

"Ok… so then we make sure he doesn't. I'll need to train and he can't help me"

"He won't allow any of us to hurt you, even if it's for training; and if you two are truly bonded then we won't be able to hide it from him"

"OK… so we need to determine if we are; and if that's the case then you will have to explain this to him but not all. I have the feeling he is still hiding something dangerous…"

"Geez Blondie… anything else?"

"Now that you mention it… yeah… two things actually. First, I got this book that speaks about Dragons, but I can't understand the language"

"Why don't you ask Shrimp to do it?" He raised an eyebrow as if it was obvious "Sure, if you want whatever is in there to be known by her and not you, I can go to her first"

"I'll look at it, but I can assure you it'll be no good… I ain't good with that stuff. What's the second thing?"

"Am… well, we kind of need to know if I'm bonded with him, so… I may need a bit of help"

"What do you want me to do?" Gajeel used his snarkiest tone to mock Lucy "Push you down the hill?"

* * *

 

Back at the guild Natsu was still sitting with Gray; Mira had brought his and Lucy's food and it weirded everyone out that he didn't immediately dig in, but instead was patiently waiting for Lucy to come back.

"Wow… so is that serious uhm?" Natsu raised his eyebrow and stared before the ice mage rolled his eyes "I have never seen you let your food get cold, and I've known you my whole life flame-brain, doesn't take a genius to connect the dots"

Before he could formulate his response his nose alerted him of a presence he would spend the rest of his time in Magnolia trying to avoid.

"Hey Pyro! Did you ditch the ditz already?" Merryl had rushed to her temporary accommodations to change as soon as she saw the display of affection between Natsu and Lucy at the train station. She was wearing a pair of black knee length boots along with a pair of tight blue shorts, and a black lace long sleeve body with a deep cleavage.

"Call her a ditz one more fucking time and I'll…" Merryl laughed immediately "You what? You'll burn me to a crisp? Been there, done that sugar… but you are out of juice for now, so I guess we are both set for disappointment"

She leaned over pressing her breasts to his shoulders and wrapping her arms on him from behind. Gray was startled by what he saw; his friend's expression went from the annoyed one he had after being questioned, to a cold, emotionless one. If the Ice Mage didn't know his friend's face so well he would have sworn the man sitting across from him was someone else.

"Hands off"

"I want to show you how much I care about you, just let me show you lover boy… you won't regret it"

Gray saw something dangerous in Natsu's eyes and tried to intervene "Hey looney bin, I think you better listen to the man and let him be"

"What ice cube? You want him too? I can tell you he doesn't swing that way" Gray hissed at her comment and planned to retort when she decided to lick the shell of Natsu's ear

In a swift motion Natsu peeled her hands of his neck, stood up and turned to push her against the wall,

"I said… hands off"

To say the woman had a thing for toxic relationships was an understatement as established from the look of excitement in her face after being shoved. She walked closer again "Wow, I didn't know you were into this type of stuff" he pushed her a second time, stronger now "you become more interesting by the minute"

The rest of the guild was stunned by the violent display and in a few seconds both Gray and Erza were standing next to him "Natsu! Just ignore her, come on."

He didn't listen to them, he couldn't… he was too tired, suffering from both sleep and magic deprivation and the only thing holding him together was Lucy.

-I promised-I promised-I promised- promises are important for Lucy, I can't break any promises to her, not ever-not ever-not ever

Gray was trying to pull Natsu's by the shoulder, but it was like trying to move a statue "What the hell Natsu?"

He shook Gray's hand off and got close enough to whisper in her ear "I don't need to burn you to a crisp to break your shit psycho". He felt a sudden pull on his chest and immediately started looking everywhere; he could hear his pulse and all the other sounds became background noise "Lucy…"

Natsu on impulse ran out of the guild leaving everyone in a confused state. He could feel as if his mind was breaking, as if he was falling from a cliff while looking at the ground; he ran as fast as he could, not caring if he was hit by a branch on his way, it wasn't long before he found her, cleaning the tears from her face.

"Lucy! What happened? Are you ok?"

"Yeah… I'm such a clutz, I fell… w-what are you doing here?"

"I'm… not sure… wait, you said you fell?" She nodded, and his expression changed; he showed his fangs in an intimidating gesture "What's he doing here?"

Gajeel slammed his hand against his face and started walking down the hill "Oi, bunny! You ok?" she waved gesturing as if it was nothing "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine" They both heard a small growl coming from the back of Natsu's throat, but it soon died when he saw Lucy trying to stand up only to fall back on her butt. He rushed to her and picked her up before giving Gajeel a dirty look.

"Stop it Natsu! He was just here helping me with some stuff… can we go back to the guild? I promise I'll explain everything later ok?" She smiled at him and he allowed himself to melt under her gaze once more.

The three of them walked back to the guild, and as soon as they crossed the doors Lucy could tell something was off. Half of the guild was giving Natsu a nasty look and the other half was avoiding to stare for too long.

"Wendy! Can you take a look at Lucy's leg?"

"Sure! Lucy what happened?" Natsu raised an eyebrow "Oh she SAYS she fell…"

Erza grabbed Natsu by the shoulder and squeezed "Is that why you left all of the sudden? You have some explaining to do" Lucy was extremely confused; Natsu sat her down and walked towards Merryl, he could smell her fear mixed with arousal, but on the outside, she showed no changes.

"I had promised I wouldn't hurt you again, and I did… I apologize for that, but you need to stop this… whatever it is that you have going on"

"What if I don't?"

"Don't Merryl… I'm asking nicely"

"I like it better when you don't"

Lucy didn't know what took over her, she limped her way there and stood between him and Merryl "Whichever way he asked, I can assure you he was nicer than what I would be"

There was a general gasp from the guild; they all knew she was temperamental, but this was definitely new for them. Natsu cleared his throat "Luce…"

"Bring it on girly!" Lucy took a step forward but was quickly stopped when he wrapped his arms around her waist; she pulled a bit, then she stopped and smiled at the redhead before grabbing both of Natsu's hands and pulling them to her hips; she leaned back and rested on his chest without saying a word.

Natsu was blushing, his eyes went around the guild inspecting everyone's faces; most were gawking, a few nodding, and a couple of more, like Cana, were giving him a thumbs up. The redhead couldn't take the humiliation anymore, she stormed out again leaving nothing but silence behind her.

The realization of the scene that had taken place hit Lucy like a bucket of cold water "W-what did I just…" Natsu ruffled her hair "yeah…"

"So they probably figured that…" he took a deep breath "Yeah…" she felt so bad, the one thing he had asked was for them to keep things quiet for now "I'm s-so sorry!" before he could respond, they were tackled by the guild who had now forgotten all about Natsu's display of anger..

They were suddenly bombarded by the ten thousand questions where several limits of respect for privacy were broken.

"Are you together now!?", "Is it official", "When did you get together?!", "Did you hit that already!?", last one earned Cana a smack on the head by an angry bartender. He felt a bit overwhelmed, so when she squeezed his hand, he decided to let her take the lead.

"OK! Yes, kind of, not long ago... and NO CANA… now… we still have a lot to figure out, we are tired, and you butting in will NOT I repeat… WILL NOT help at all, ok?"

The voices became whispers, but as soon as Erza turned to look at them, silence took over

"Indeed… it won't help one bit, and we all understand Lucy"

"Thanks guys!" she turned to Natsu and grabbed his hand "Well, I guess the cat is out of the bag… the food is probably cold already, I'm sorry" she pouted and he couldn't believe how that silly gesture could look so amazingly cute on someone "I don't mind… let's finish up and look for something to do"

They took their usual table with Erza, Gray and Happy; Gray was still in shock about Natsu eating cold food and smiling about it, and he was still quite concerned about his friend's sudden change in demeanor, but he was willing to put that on hold for now.

"Natsu! I knew you two liked each other, why didn't you tell me first? I'm your best friend"

"I'm sorry bud! It kind of… just happened"

"Those things don't just happen Natsu"

"Of course they do Happy… maybe not to you…" Happy opened his mouth to respond to Lucy's comments before flying on to Natsu's chest "Lucy is being mean again!" He patted his head and gave Lucy a disapproving look "Aw Bud, I'm sure she didn't mean to; Carla will come around sooner or later, you'll see!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry Happy… I was just teasing you" Happy cleaned his face and sniffed "Really?" she smiled and scratched behind his ear "Of course! I'm sure one of these days she will gladly take your fish"

"AYE! I'll go try right now" and with that, the blue exceed went to find the object of his affection, leaving the four mages behind.

They finished their meal and left the guild to find something to do, after all they still had one full day to kill before Natsu could sleep. He had asked if they could stay at his house, he knew it was easier for their friends to make their way to her apartment and they would never think Lucy would agree to stay in his place.

Lucy decided it was best to take a short trip to the store before, since there would be no food, snacks or drinks in his house. Shopping was done quickly and immediately after they were on their way.

She had been to his place before, but it still amazed her how all the noises from town were left behind; Lucy could hear the wind blowing and moving every leaf, whistling through the mountains and the branches of trees. The sun was going down and with it the temperature descended, they still had some walking to do, so he wrapped his arm around her shoulders to keep her warm.

They walked through the dirt path surrounded by trees until his house was visible, it was small and quiet; Luckily for Lucy, the place was not as messy as it was the first time she saw it; she remembered the time she had sneaked into his house just to get revenge on him for barging into her place without permission, only to end up cleaning the place up.

The house had been remodeled over time, mostly after their scavenger hunt to find the First Master's chest that was buried under the tree inside Natsu's house, along with the devastating wars that had almost cost them everything; it now had an actual bedroom for him to sleep in instead of his hammock, a full kitchen which was mostly clean since they barely ate there, and an actual couch and coffee table; the one thing that hadn't changed about the house was Natsu's wall; it was still filled with all the request he had completed, memorabilia from different missions and some pictures too.

"The place looks great, when did you buy all the stuff?"

"Hmm… just little by little, I'm glad you like it. Er… do you want something to drink?

"Sure, I'll take some tea"

After a minute she heard him mumble under his breath "shit…" she turned around to see him staring at the matches "What are you doing?"

"Can you turn the stupid stove on for me?"

She giggled and went to assist him, she lit the match and turned the knob completing her task with a "Ta-da!". Natsu pouted and gave her an annoyed growl "It ain't funny! You know how frustrating this is?"

"Ok, what is this about?"

"Tsk...I… my hands started shaking… I really… really wanted to eat it"

She felt bad for him, this was probably the longest time he had spent without eating fire, and yes… it would usually be ok, but he would definitely need it after a battle and to help him heal.

"I know… but this is something you are going to have to get used to, and I'll help" despite her words, he got a beer and sat with an angry face on the couch; he rested his head on the back and closed his eyes.

He felt movement and noticed Lucy sitting next to him, "What?"

"You look cute when you pout"

"AM NOT!" she giggled, which made him a bit upset but it was all washed away when her hand reached a lock of his hair and started playing with it. He watched her as she twisted the strand which such concentration that she seemed to be solving a world class problem; her eyes were wide open, and her tongue was licking her upper lip.

"There! I'm done" He reached for his hair to find a small tight braid on it "Hey! Stop braiding my hair" she started laughing and let herself fall on the armrest of the couch; Natsu took advantage of this and grabbed both of her feet with one arm to tickle her.

"STOP IT! STOP IT!"

"Do you surrender!?"

"NEVER" he laughed loudly and smirked at her "Then you leave me no choice!" he released her feet and threw himself at her to tickle her stomach without giving her a second to rest.

"FINE! I Surrender" They were both still laughing and trying to catch their breaths, when they noticed how close they were. He was basically on top of her, kneeling between her legs, one hand on each side of her, and his face no more than eight inches away from hers.

Natsu moved his hand and brushed her hair behind her ear; she wrapped her arms around his neck to let him know she was fine with their closeness. He reduced the distance between them and licked her bottom lip causing her to gasp; he took the opportunity and dipped his tongue in her mouth inspecting every corner he could reach.

Things got heated quickly and Lucy needed to feel more of him, they had been avoiding their feelings for far too long and things were so bottled up by now, that she thought things would explode somewhere if she didn't touch more of him. She grabbed his vest and tried to push it off, he took the hint and quickly broke the kiss to toss the offending piece of clothing somewhere on the floor.

**XXX - Stop reading if you are allergic to critics or underage - XXX**

Natsu grabbed Lucy's chin and turned her face to expose her porcelain neck, before licking her jaw line and sucking on the spot below her ear eliciting a soft moan from her lips; he was sure this woman would be his doom. He led his hand to her left breast and grabbed it firmly, he could feel her hard nipples through the thin cotton fabric.

Natsu's mind was clouded with lust, he decided to experiment a bit, so he brushed his thumb against her hard nipple and he was not disappointed when he felt her arch her back and whisper "N-Natsu", he loved the sound of his name coming from her warm lips and he knew then and there that whatever mission he had, he wouldn't be able to complete it if it meant to leave her.

Lucy dug her nails on his back leaving red thin lines behind, and he growled with a mix of pain and excitement; she grabbed his hair and pulled his head to the side before pulling him to bite his neck; he released a growl and without noticing, his hands went to her hips and he pulled her to him; she felt his length on her tight and instinctively grinded against him which only made him tighten his grip on her hips.

Natsu pulled her shirt up and she helped him remove it, before she realized he was eagerly trying to reach the brooch of her bra in a clumsy way.

"Need any help with that?"

"I've got this! This thing ain't defeating me!"

"Nuh uh! You'll rip it" She sat up and blushed while she unhooked her bra, still grabbing it against her skin to gain the courage to be as exposed as she was about to be.

His breath got caught in his lungs and he gulped when he saw her finally removing the clothing item and covering herself with her own hands.

Natsu kissed her and leaned over her causing her to lay back down, he grabbed her hands and slowly removed them to reveal her perfect mounds and rosy peaks "You are the most perfect woman that has ever existed…" he kissed her again before grabbing both naked breasts with his hands; he kissed down her neck and continued south, he gave an experimental lick to her nipple causing her to shiver, and he needed no more direction after that. He sucked on her right breast while his other hand took care of her left one, and he eventually switched to avoid negligence on the task at hand.

Lucy said his name frequently and arched her back to meet him; he had scratches on his back from her fingernails, she had a few red and purple marks on her chest and neck, but they didn't care.

It took every bit of power within him, but he managed to stop and separate himself from her, he looked her in the eye with seriousness he rarely displayed "Do you want to stop?" she looked at him with such love that he felt his heart skip a bit. She sat up and pushed him to sit before reaching for his belt to try to remove it.

"Luce…" She smiled but didn't stop her actions "Natsu?"

"It's ok if you want to stop… we haven't been together for more than… a few hours and you should be sure it is me that you want" She looked at him as if he had grown a second head in the last couple of seconds "If I'm sure? let us recap… you gave me a home" she gave him a sweet kiss on his cheek right above his scar "I've stuck with your craziness throughout the years" she kissed his left cheek "And my life would be so sad without you that I would rather go rogue against the council than losing you… how more sure do you want me to be?"

Natsu brushed his thumb against her cheek and brought her closer to kiss her lips, the momentum grew again from sweet to passionate until Lucy continued fighting with his belt; she proceeded to undo his pants without separating their lips, and he raised himself a bit to help remove his pants along with his boxers.

It was weird for him; he had always felt as if nakedness wasn't an issue, but for some reason, in this moment with her, he felt much more exposed than what he had ever felt before. At that moment he decided Lucy was wearing too many clothes in comparison and practically ripped her skirt off which cause her to gasp.

Natsu hooked his hand under her knee and pulled her on top of him letting his hand rest on her upper tight and squeezing hard which would probably leave a small bruise; he allowed his fingers to explore a bit further in the inside of her tight until he softly brushed the skin surrounding the rim of her underwear.

He felt completely intoxicated by her scent and every time he touched somewhere she liked, he felt something inside him pulse, this sensation became stronger when his thumb made its way underneath the pink lace fabric to touch the inside of her wet folds. She moaned his name and he swallowed the sound as if it was water in the desert; he sucked on her breast again in a greedy way, and Lucy pulled his face further while grinding against his hand.

Lucy pushed him away causing him to whine a bit, she stood up and turned her back to him before hooking her fingers to the sides of her panties and bending over to pull them down; she barely had time to toss them when she felt his hands on her hips pulling her down to his lap.

He bit her nape and licked her skin while his hand explored her wet folds until he found a bundle of nerves that made her drop her head on his shoulder and moan loudly. He drew circles on it and allowed her sounds to guide him, she was liquid fire and he was holding her in his hands.

Natsu moved his hand below and brushed her entrance before inserting one finger, he moved it in circles before pulling it out slowly and inserting it back in. Her breath was choked and and he smirked against her skin before moving his other hand from her breast to her clit to rub it gently in a steady motion. He could feel she was close, he wanted to feel her release that delicious tension. He decided to up the stakes and inserted a second digit while keeping his steady motions with both hands.

She felt a nod in her lower stomach and a rush that almost made her stop breathing all at once, it was too much for her; like watching a volcano, waiting for it to violently explode. Natsu felt her body stiffen, but not in a bad way, he saw her biting her lip and increased the speed of his ministrations until her body was shaking and her legs went limp above him.

She was panting and her head felt dizzy all of the sudden; she had never felt so together like in that moment and not just because of the immeasurable passion… she had found the person that completed her in every single aspect. Natsu wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck, he took a deep breath and allowed her scent to invade his nose.

"Vanilla and lavender… I love that smell"

She giggled and blushed a bit, before laying her hands above his "You smell like cinnamon… and camp fires in the forest" he licked the shell of her ear then down her neck while speaking to her "I need you to know I am never leaving your side now… you are very much screwed" she pushed her hips against him and barely whispered "Who said you would be allowed to leave" she smiled and pushed her hips against his still throbbing member "I think the couch is too small" He blinked a couple of times before giving her a huge toothy grin "I think it is".

Natsu picked her up as if she was light as a feather and threw her above his shoulder to make his way to the barely used bedroom.

"And I guess your hand is on my ass because of safety?"

"Of course! Wouldn't want you to fall Luce!"

He threw her on the mattress earning a small yelp from the blond celestial mage before sitting at the foot of the bed "Are you, still sure?" she nodded, and he smiled at her lovingly still wondering how someone like him could be so lucky.

Natsu grabbed her foot and kissed her ankle, then her calf, the inside of her tight; he noticed she held her breath and thought that would be something interesting to investigate later on.

He was now facing her and couldn't find one ounce of doubt in her beautiful brown eyes and he kissed her softly, then deeply until both their minds were too fuzzy to think of anything else; it was as if nothing else existed in the entire world aside from them.

Lucy lowered her hand and stroked him softly, and he could only rest his head on her shoulder. She pumped a few times before she felt him kissing her neck again, trying to get some of the control back. She had read many books, heard many stories and kind of knew how this was supposed to go, however, theory and practice were not the same, she was sure of it.

He circled her entranced for a bit, soaking himself in her scent "Luce…" she closed her eyes and pushed her hips down to allowed the tip inside of her while she bit his earlobe; he growled a bit harder and teased her entrance earning a few short gasps.

Natsu had to ask once more, he was scared at some point he would wake up and find himself still being held in that God forsaken cell "Sure?" she bit harder and then kissed his neck "Stop asking silly, I'm not leaving…"

He kissed her forehead and slowly pushed himself inside of her, he had only heard how this was supposed to go and wanted to cause as little pain to her as possible; he felt her stiffen and dig her nails into his back again so he stopped and rubbed his thumb on her cheek, he kissed her forehead, her cheeks, both eyes, her nose and finally her lips; when he felt her relax he pushed a bit further until he was completely inside of her.

They held onto each other for a couple of minutes, for him it felt like he tried to contain himself for hours but he was committed to do whatever she needed him to do. Lucy ran her fingers through his nape and pulled him for a kiss, Natsu opened his mouth and took her in slowly gaining back heat, he looked at her expectantly and she melted under his gaze; she saw the love and concern in his eyes and she nodded signaling him to continue.

Natsu slowly pulled out a bit before thrusting back in, he was surprised about how much this felt as when he lit himself on fire, but better for obvious reasons; he straightened himself up while still inside of her just to take a good look at the woman sharing his bed and he noticed something he had done made her bite her lip… a sudden light bulb lit up in his brain and he pulled her hips up with his hands before thrusting back in, he felt himself going deeper inside of her and she moaned harder than before.

The sounds Lucy made were quickly becoming his fuel and encouragement, and he kept a steady rhythm while he held her, he was extremely focused on the task in front of him and her commanding voice startled him with one request "Harder" he knew he wouldn't last much longer but his competitive personality wouldn't let him fail facing such a challenge.

He managed to hold her with one arm while his other hand used its new found liberty to find her pink pleasure button, he rubbed circles on it and pounced harder and faster until he felt her walls tighten around his hardness, she started pulsing around him and he finally decided to let go and released himself inside of her.

**XXX - Ok here's some Benadryl for the... allergies, you can continue reading - XXX**

They were both trying to catch their breaths when Natsu pulled out and pulled her to his chest, he kissed her forehead again and brushed her hair with his fingers "Are you ok?"

"I'm better than ok… I don't think I've ever been this happy" he felt as if on cloud nine, nothing absolutely nothing mattered in that moment; or so he thought when he heard her stomach growl, he didn't try to contain his laughter, he hadn't felt like laughing in so long… she had the power to make everything better.

"Stop laughing idiot! It’s not funny!"

"Of course it is!" He saw her pout and kissed her nose "Ok… wait here and get some rest, I'll be back" he covered her with a blanket and saw her hugging a pillow before making his way to the kitchen.

"Ok… so it is… what 1:00 AM? Man… there's still lots of hours to go…"

It took about half an hour but he was able to put together a decent plate for both of them before making it back to the room with a tray.

"Luce?... are you sleeping?"

"Natsu did you barge in again?... get out of my bed…" she was definitely sleeping, which amused him taking into consideration their current situation "But Luce… you are in my bed…"

"Am not… take your stupid cat out of my refrigerator…"

"Luce… you realize you are naked in my bed right?"

She immediately opened her eyes and covered herself with the sheet before seeing Natsu biting his lip to avoid laughing "You are such an ass!"

"Yes I am, but I'm an ass that made you some food! That should count for something" she smiled and then went back to blushing when she realized they were both still naked.

"Dig in! I brought some juice, toast, eggs and bacon"

"Did you burn your kitchen doing this?"

"I did not, AND I cleaned after cooking"

"Mr. Dragneel you are saying all the right things today" she winked at him before reaching for her orange juice, and they both ate in the peace and quiet of Natsu's house. After that they just cuddled for a bit, he dragged his fingers through her now messy hair, and she brushed hers up and down his chest.

"C-can I ask you something?"

"Yes you can… but I may not be able to answer for you"

"Ok… why didn't you take me with you… during that year?"

"Damn Luce…" he sighed heavily "I… didn't want anyone to see me so… I was in bad shape; my father had died in front of me and I needed time to put myself together"

"You should have trusted me at least…"

"I trust you more than I trust myself Luce… but you were the last person I wanted to see me like that; it may be stupid but I need to feel strong when I'm around you, I need you to know I'll save you from whatever evil we are facing…" Although the answer made her sad he felt such a responsibility, she couldn't help but feel happy about the fact that he was actually sharing his real feelings

"But I do know that… you would never leave me alone" she laid on her stomach and rested her chin on his chest "What did you do during that trip?"

"You know I trained" she rolled her eyes and smacked his chest "Duh… I mean what else"

He bit the inside of his cheek and held her tight "I drank a full village worth of alcohol and apparently yelled "Suck it Cana" while sitting in the town's fountain, destroyed a portion of a forest during a bad ahem… episode, then apologized and dedicated the next month to reforest, learned some stuff about my brother and his followers and trained until I came back home"

"Wait a second! Let's go back a little bit" he shook his head and huffed "You see… I knew you were not going to let it go…"

"Are you crazy! Of course not… what did you learn about him"

"Luce… I… let's just say that he died but he left a bunch of crazy behind ok? There may be an empty throne in the demon chair, but… there's not a shortage of servants"

"And how do you feel about him?"

"You are full of questions tonight, aren't you?... Well... I hate him for everything he did… but I'm also thankful, I despise all of his actions, but I feel sorry for him… I feel guilty too" She gave him a puzzled look and he knew this wouldn't be something she would let go easily "He started all of this to bring me back, because he loved me that much Luce… he sacrificed his soul and was cursed because he couldn't deal with the fact that I had died… I died! I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him, Anna, Igneel… your mother… she is also dead because of us…"

"Hey! Listen to me… you didn't cause my mother to die, she made a choice to save our world, and I would have done the same, I do not blame you nor the others"

"That's just because you are perfect and forgiving, your heart's too big for your own good"

They kept cuddling and accidentally fell asleep, however this time the nightmares stayed away and for the first time in months, Natsu was able to enjoy a full night of sleep… sadly it would be the last for some time.

It was early in the morning when Natsu opened his eyes and noticed the light outside, he squeezed Lucy tightly and nuzzled her head "Morning…" She smiled and pressed her cheek against his chest "Morning"

"Morning!" The voice startled both mages getting them abruptly out of their cloud and causing Lucy to scream and kick "KYAAAAAA" ; Happy was thrown out of the bed and landed on the floor with a thud.

"Luuuucy! That hurts!"

"W-what are you doing here cat!"

"Oh Lucy… you are so dumb… I live here! I should be the one asking, what YOU are doing here…"

"Oh… w-well" She started stuttering and Natsu decided to provide some much-needed assistance "I needed someone to make sure I didn't use magic in my sleep, so I asked her to stay as a favor" Lucy released a breath she didn't know she was holding, of course someone as naïve as Happy would buy that…

"Ok, was the nakedness part of the "favor" too? Also, I should add you both get… grabby… in your sleep"

Both Natsu and Lucy went through the full scheme of colors in a matter of seconds, before deciding to come clean with Happy and beg for his silence, and begging included of course negotiation about the amount, time and frequency of his payment in fish, and a promise that Lucy would keep her violent outbursts to a minimum.

"Eww Natsu… I'm never sleeping in your bed ever again!"

"You may want to stay off the couch too then…"

"That's it! You are building a room for me and buying me a bed!"

"Geez Happy… relax a little would you?"

"Stop it! YOU! Stop discussing this with your stupid cat! And you… if you ever want to see payment you better shut your trap!"

"Aye…"

Natsu shrug and walked towards Lucy to wrap his arms around her tightly "Do you want to stay in today? We don't have to see the old woman until later" he kissed her nape and she hummed out of happiness.

"I need to go to the guild to see Gajeel" Natsu immediately stiffened his arms "Why?"

"I asked him to take a look at something yesterday… so I need to take it to the guild" Lucy shut her eyes for a bit "He also said he needed to talk to you about some stuff"

She heard him growl a bit, but noticed he relaxed and nodded on her neck "Fine… we should catch some lunch while we are there"

They made their way to the guild, first hand in hand until Happy decided to swing between them; each holding one paw and letting him swing like a little child. Everyone who crossed their path observed the scene and smiled at them as if it just made sense.

Natsu kicked the door open as he usually did, the only difference people could recognize was he was clingier than usual with the blonde celestial mage; he refused to leave her side and held her hand protectively.

"What's up with you?" he hugged her and nuzzled her neck "Nothing, I'm just happy… and better rested"

Happy snickered and opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted by Lucy "WE have a deal… so shut it cat" The blue exceed shrugged and landed on the bar to order his usual.

"Hey, can you get us some food? I need to ask Levy a couple of things" He whined a bit and held her hand tighter "Oh come on! I'll be back in a few minutes, I promise"

He huffed and crossed his arms "Fine! I'll get the food…" Mira couldn't help but notice he followed her with his eyes as if making sure she would come back.

"Oh my… you've got it bad don't you?" He gave her a puzzled look and frowned "Well… you are acting like a cute puppy waiting for a steak"

"OI! I ain't a cute puppy!" Mira giggled and nodded before going to the kitchen to get their food. Natsu wasn't pleased with her comment; he loved Lucy more than what he thought possible, but did he really look that desperate? He started feeling kind of anxious, almost as if the skin under his nape was itchy, but he decided to disregard that.

Mira came back with their food in no time; he balanced every plate towards their usual table where Gray and Erza were waiting for them. He sat down and searched for Lucy with his eyes; he tapped his foot on the floor and waited without noticing the look both Erza and Gray gave him.

"I told you… he is doing it again"

"Indeed… this is weird… for him"

"What are you too mumbling about? I'm right in front of you!"

"Why aren't you eating?" He shrugged and responded nonchalantly "I'm waiting for Luce"

"We get that Flame-brain… but why are you waiting for her? You've been partners for years and she usually has to fight to keep her food on her plate"

He took a second to consider what they said, he never felt the need of waiting for someone to get their food before, so why would he do it now? He was about to reach for one of the plates when Lucy started walking back to the table, and he instinctively retrieved his hand in a gesture similar to a kid being caught getting a cookie without permission.

Both Gray and Erza decided not to mention this when Lucy arrived to the table, another thing they noticed was the certain skip in the blonde's merry walk, and how their closeness seemed to be even more personal than before.

"This looks so good! What is it?" He passed the plate and shrugged "Stew or something, Mira made it and said you would love it"

"Ok, what did you get" He smiled again "I got a burger, some extra spicy chicken wings, and fries, and… why are you making that face?"

"Your fries look so good...even the chicken wings although I'll probably die trying to eat them…" He didn't think about it and pushed his plate closer to her "you can have my fries, and some wings, but I agree those will burn your lips" he brushed his finger on her bottom lip softly, forgetting everything about the two people audience in front of them.

"Guys could you please stop doing that… you are weirding me out…" For some reason despite of the obviousness of Gray's comment, Lucy and Natsu didn't understand what he meant. Lunch went by as usual with the regular arguments, of course it was calmer since Natsu and Gray were aware that a fight could lead to instinctive magic use and chaos.

Gajeel entered the guild while they were still eating; Natsu and Gajeel stared at each other and gave a quick nod but there was something different about the interaction.

The Fire Dragon slayer had barely finished his food when he heard Gajeel's voice from a distance, it wouldn't have been noticeable if not for his enhanced hearing "Need to talk, training field in ten minutes" he merely nodded and continued engaging in small talk with his friends.

He told Lucy where he was going and caught up with Gajeel quickly, he was already waiting for him with his unfriendly mug.

"Yo… what's up metal head?"

Neither was good at this type of thing so there was an awkward silence for a bit before Gajeel started in the worst way possible "I'm training Bunny girl, she asked me to"

"The fuck you are… you are not laying a finger on her"

Gajeel smirked at him and shook his head "Now that's the instinct talking, but I need the goof ball idiot to listen, not the Dragon…"

"Two minutes…"

"Fuck you, I'll take as long as I need and you can't do shit about it right now" Natsu huffed and balled his fists, but still remained quiet "She is going to be in danger, and she will put you in danger too; she needs to know how to fight back and not only with her spirits"

"I can protect her" Gajeel sighed "No, you can't… you've bonded with her, she's your mate, if she dies that'll kill you, and if you die… well she ain't a dragon but I'm guessing it goes both ways"

"That's Bullshit… we've been almost dead many times"

"Not the same… that was before. You hadn't accepted your feelings yet"

"I don't have time for this Gajeel" He brushed his fingers through his back hair and mumbled "Dammit… I told her he wouldn't listen" Natsu immediately turned around and got closer to his friend with a stare that Gajeel couldn't decipher, whether if it was more surprised or angered.

"What did you say?"

"You know exactly what I said flame boy; Lucy wants me to train her because she knows you are bonded, and she's known for some time now. She knows that by not training herself, she will put both of you in danger"

In a second, thousands of possibilities sparked through his brain, he had no choice. The night before he had let himself be engulfed by his love and desire for his partner, and with that addictive love, came the realization that he shouldn't, couldn't and wouldn't leave her side, not then, not ever.

He was well aware that succeeding on the mission the council had given him, didn't mean he would survive it, come back in one piece, or even come back with his mind intact; he had been fine with that decision as long as it meant keeping his family safe… but knowing that whatever happened to him would also affect Lucy and maybe even cost her life…

He realized that he would be basically standing between a rock and a hard place when it came to it, this idea made him feel more anxious; the itching on his nape became stronger and the only reason why we didn't surrender to scratching his skin off was the demonic contraption on his neck.

Bottom line… if he didn't complete his assignment she would be in danger, and if he did she would too…

"Do it… " Gajeel looked at him, there was something pleading desperately in his eyes and he couldn't help but feel bad for the younger slayer "I need to undo this… I have to undo this…"

"You can't; she made her choice… she knew the consequences"

Natsu felt anger crawling into his chest, he couldn't help but think of how selfish she was by making this decision without telling him, not trusting him enough; although he knew he would have done worse, he still couldn't accept it.

Gajeel walked away and left him to his thoughts, he walked back to the guild and as soon as he entered he was questioned by Lucy.

"Did you talk to him?" she only got a nod as a response "How did he take it?" Gajeel shrugged "He didn't say much, he also didn't look happy about it but he agreed to me training you"

"Oh, well it can't be that bad if he agreed at the end… Oh, by the way, this is the book I told you about" she handed her the scaly looking book, Gajeel brushed his fingers on it and smelled the cover.

"It smells like dragon alright…" He gave Lucy a cocky smirk "But so do you…"

She blushed four shades darker than usual but before she could answer she noticed Gajeel's expression going completely serious; she felt something behind her before hearing his voice.

"We are going home Lucy" She turned giving her best sweet practice smiled "B-but we just got here!" He looked angry, she knew as angry as he could ever be she would be forgiven in no time, but still the sight of angry Natsu wasn't pretty.

"Now Lucy… you and I have stuff to talk about" She lowered her head and walked next to him all the way back to his house, he was extremely quiet on the way back; she could barely keep up with his speed but she managed to stay close.

Once home he went to the refrigerator, got a beer and drank half of it in one gulp "What the fuck were you thinking?! Seriously Luce!"

"Hey! don't you dare talk to me like that Natsu Dragneel"

"Oh no, you are not making this about you being mad, nuh uh! I know that trick" She was surprised, how the hell did he know… "You knew! you pushed me to come clean about how I felt when you knew I could put you in danger?"

"Oh come on! I'm the one putting you in danger, if someone wants to take you down they just need to get to me!"

"I would never let that happen!"

"You don't even know if you'll be here next week! How the hell are you planning to protect me forever?" he felt a sharp pain in his chest, he couldn't keep her safe if he wasn't around… could he?

"If you would have let things be, we wouldn't be in this situation!"

"If I had let things be you would be dead!

"It was not your choice to make! You said you made your choice and I accepted it, but you… you took away my choice in this matter; do you think I would want to live with myself if something happened to you?"

"I won't let that happen! I'm going to train and become stronger and everything will be ok"

"WHY ARE YOU SO STUBBORN?"

"WHY ARE YOU SUCH A HYPOCRITE? YOU WOULD DO THE SAME"

"STOP BEING SO SELFISH LUCE!"

"STOP ACTING LIKE YOUR WORD IS THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS!"

The itching on his neck was getting stronger by the second and he couldn't take it anymore, he gave it an angry glare "GEEZ LUCE… Just shut up!" he stomped towards her and kissed her fiercely pinning her against the wall.

**XXX - Stop reading, the clerk had to go get more Benadryl - XXX**

She didn't even push back, Lucy immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist, letting him melt her with his natural warmth.

This was different than the day before; love was present but the gentleness was long gone and for some reason it didn't bother her at all. He didn't wait much, he moved her underwear aside and inserted two fingers at once without warning before pumping them in and out of her.

Lucy closed her eyes and tilted her head back while she moaned his name; he used his weight and strength to pin her before ripping her shirt open making some buttons pop and fall on the ground somewhere; Natsu pulled her bra down and immediately latched to her breast, biting down making her shriek with a mix of pain and pleasure.

He pushed her legs down so she could stand, before carefully removing his scarf and folding in on the table; she saw something feral in his eyes, almost as if a predator looking at its pray and she shivered, but not out of fear but excitement.

Natsu returned to his place in front of her and when she tried to put her arms around him he held her wrists and placed them above her head; he held her with one hand and started kissing down her body until he had to release her from his grip; he made it to her hip bone and he bit the skin leaving a mark behind while hooking his fingers to her underwear and pulling it down to her ankles; she tossed it away quickly after.

He bit the inside of her tight lifting her leg to rest on his shoulder, and without warning latched his mouth on the bundle of nerves between her legs causing her to gasp; he licked up and down her folds and back to that spot he knew would take her over the edge where he stopped to suckle greedily before inserting his fingers back inside of her.

Lucy couldn't take it anymore, she felt the pressure in her lower stomach accumulating until she exploded exactly after he bit down. Once she stopped shaking he undid his pants and wrapped her legs around his waist again, this time sliding smoothly into her and pouncing with both strength and speed until she came again sending him over the edge.

**XXX - Ok here's some more Benadryl, you can go back to reading after this point - XXX**

They both sat on the floor trying to catch their breaths and make sense of the situation.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't tell you… I was scared you would leave if you found out, but it wasn't fair…"

He brushed his fingers on his messy hair and shook his head "I would have… and also would have done the same you did… I'm sorry I was such as ass" She rested her head on his shoulder and nuzzled him "You still mad at me?"

"A little… but how could I stay mad at you… I love you" he cleared his throat and held her hand "So… is that how we are solving our arguments now, because I'm kind of down with it"

She shook her head and kissed his shoulder "You are such an ass" He just laughed and shrugged "Yeah… so what now?"

Lucy's smile warmed his heart and gave him peace he never thought he would find "Now we hope for the best!"

* * *

 

A dark haired woman was leaning on one of the trees near the lake not far from Natsu's house, she wore a white short kimono loose on the top, allowing her shoulders to show, and black tights and boots; her hair was held in a messy bun with two chopsticks that had a white pearl on the top. Her eyes were almost purple and only framed by black eyeliner, her plump lips colored with a dark wine shade.

She held an orb on her hand and she observed their fierce kisses, the sweat on their skin, she heard their passionate moaning of names and the strokes of their bodies. Such woman did not look happy…

"Soon my king… I shall make your dream come true and bring him home"

 


	25. Gravity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu is falling quickly into his relationship with Lucy and couldn't be more grateful to have her while he experiences the process of his body adjusting to Porlyusica's medication; theirs is not the only relationship that develops as Gajeel decides to come clean about some "minor details" to Levy which lead to very happy results.
> 
> As Gravity dictates... what goes up, will come crashing down eventually and this is exactly what happens when an unexpected visit opens a door that Natsu would have liked to leave closed and forgotten.
> 
> AN: Still hate summaries and will continue to :3 but you guys are awesome for disregarding my lack of summary skills lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya! sorry for not updating on the weekend, I went camping to an awesome place, we swam a bit taking advantage of the last good weather days before it's too cold to do so :3 also had about 2 bottles of wine but that's a whooole different story XD
> 
> New OC names and places will start getting included, shit is about to become real crazy and this story will now start spiraling out of control in *mythological* ways (Hint, wink, nudge), see below: 
> 
> Aporia (Latin): Perplexity, doubt, embarrassment, disorder.  
> Nihil (Latin): Nothing  
> Radoub (French): Repair, Refitting
> 
> As ALWAYS Thanks to awesone Nenley for reading and for her Beta services *Your notes make my day gurl XD*
> 
> "There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds." 
> 
> ― Laurell K. Hamilton, Mistral's Kiss

 

A dark haired woman was leaning on one of the trees near the lake not far from Natsu's house, she wore a white short kimono loose on the top, allowing her shoulders to show, and black tights and boots; her hair was held in a messy bun with two chopsticks that had a white pearl on the top. Her eyes were almost purple and only framed by black eyeliner, her plump lips colored with a dark wine shade.

She held an orb on her hand and she observed their fierced kisses, the sweat on their skins, she heard their passionate moaning of names and the strokes of their bodies. Such woman did not look happy…

"Soon my king… I shall make your dream come true and bring him home"

* * *

 

Natsu and Lucy were lost in each other, he kept thinking about her sweet, innocent and oh-so-naive words… wish for the best? could he even allow himself to wish now? He had almost everything he had wished for, but it just couldn't last.

She felt him, so much more than before; their bond grew stronger every day and while the awareness of it gave her the upper hand in keeping him blind about it, it also troubled her deeply "Hey… you look a thousand miles away… talk to me"

Lucy knew him better than what he thought she did, so when he smiled at her with that well prepared, practiced smile that looked like a million bucks, she was sure he was hiding something.

"Nah… I'm right here, enjoying the sight" his eyes roamed her body while he snickered a bit, and for one second she allowed herself to forget he was deviating from his concerns. She understood then… in this matter he would not falter, he had more than a decade of practice; whether it was starting a fight, going on a mission or pretending to be clueless about what people talked about, he always found the right tool to get his way.

"You know that won't work with me anymore" he furrowed his brows and tilted his head in the sweetest most annoying way and her heart clenched "But Luce, what are you talking about?"

"Oh Mavis… I should have seen how manipulative you are years ago! Either stop pulling that crap with me or I'm going home… am I making myself clear?" He flinched a bit and rolled his eyes "Fine, fine… I was just thinking Luce… I know you want me to wish for the best but just in case the worst was to happen…"

"Why do you think that could happen?" He remained quiet for a few seconds and took a deep breath "You said I shouldn't tell you if it involved lying to you. I have my reasons to think shit will hit the fan sooner or later and I can't stop thinking about the fact that because of my… no… OUR recklessness you are bound to suffer"

"It'll be ok… we'll make it ok" she leaned on him and he hugged her tightly against him "Ok Luce…" whether she liked it or not, he was planning on making preparations for her future, he would live even if it involved negotiating his way into a lifelong sentence in jail under constant torture by the council, or becoming an infinite power source like when they were stuck in Edolas… because as long as he lived, she would too and he knew their friends would be there for her.

"I'm going to take a shower, ok? then we can go see Porlyusica" he smiled and nodded "I'm going to take a walk, I'll be back soon"

He left his house and walked towards his favorite place, the small lake not far from his house had always been a place to think, rest, and relax; and right now, he needed all of those and more. As he started getting closer to the location, he felt pressure on his shoulders, an energy he recognized but was not able to pinpoint.

"Who's there?" he saw a shadow coming from behind a tree, almost as if it had materialized from nothing; the pale woman who had been observing from him orb smiled and bowed solemnly "My Lord…blessed the eyes that relish at thy presence"

Natsu had seen her before, but her name escaped his mind "You are part of that crazy ass group…"

She smiled as if a grand prize had been given to her "My Lord remembers! Although I would not consider us crazy. I come from Nihil my Lord, my name is Aporia"

"I don't give a fuck what your name is, or where you come from… I thought your friends understood the message during our last encounter"

"Which is why we decided not to send mere peons to speak to you my Lord… It pains me to see what those unworthy creatures have done to you, this is not what your brother wanted"

He flinched at the mention of Zeref and gave her a stern look "Don't care about what he wanted for me" she lowered her head before taking a few steps forward "I know that you are suffering, I can fix that for you… you can come with me now and all the suffering you've been put through can go away forever… you can have your family back, your real family, all of it"

Natsu heard steps at the distance and Aporia must have heard them too, because a moment later she was next to him whispering "We will give you time to think about it… I'll come back for my answer when the fire of Chrysomallus rises to the stars" he threw his fist at her but was only able to hit air, she had disappeared into nothing.

"Natsu?" he turned around quickly to find Lucy, her hair still dripping wet "Is everything ok?"

"What is wrong with you? You are drenched, and it is fucking cold outside, you are going to get sick!"

"Well you took too long! and I got… worried…" he shook his head and crossed his arms "I told you I would be back soon, it hasn't been that long… come on let's go"

Natsu grabbed her hand and walked her back to his house; he took a towel and sat her between his legs on the couch where he carefully tried to dry her dripping hair. "There! It's not dry yet but at least you ain't dripping!"

Lucy leaned her back to rest on his chest "That actually felt nice… you should do it more often" he pulled her up and nibbled her ear, but she pushed him away quickly "If you keep doing that we are never going to get anywhere!"

He smirked at her playfully "Oh we'll get to uncharted places… that's for sure" she smacked his shoulder and laughed "Shower! now!... consider taking a cold one Mr. Dragneel" he whined a little but eventually made his way from the couch to the bathroom.

Natsu got the water running and removed all his clothes, he noticed that the itching on the back of his neck was there again and rubbed the sore skin patch a bit, it was getting extremely irritating. He thought about the mysterious woman who had spoken to him, but decided against talking to Lucy about it, not until he knew more about her and her group.

While he was away training, he had faced the group called Nihil when they approached him first to fight him for daring to use his fists against their Master, and a bit later from a higher-ranking crew offering him a place among their ranks.

Once they were both ready, they started their way to the old healer's house; although Natsu was happy to have had a full night of sleep the day before, he was not willing to risk his chances. He was quiet still thinking about his earlier encounter with Aporia while Lucy observed him discreetly.

She got a glimpse of an image coming from him, a gorgeous woman with pale skin, her hair up in a messy yet classy bun, her delicate shoulders that were uncovered by her short white kimono… Lucy wanted to ask, she had sensed him angry and confused when she finished showering and rapidly made her way towards him, but when she got there, he was alone. There was no way she could ask about the woman without him asking how she knew; Lucy was frustrated to say the least… as if she didn't have enough to worry about with Merryl still in town, now she had another equally dangerous looking woman to worry about.

They were finally in front of Porlyusica's house, since she was already expecting them, the visit went smoother than usual, at least this time she didn't have her broom with her.

"Ok, so this is it" She pointed at a box on her table "Fifteen vials for fifteen days, I'll have more by the time you run out and I don't want to see either of you here until then"

"Is there something we should worry about?"

"Of course, you should, I already told him and you this is not enough for him to be fine… he will be tired, and sleepy, possibly groggy for long periods of time… I'm almost sure you will be out of commission for the first couple of days"

"W-what do you mean?" Natsu was suddenly less calm than before "There may be some dizziness, and nausea while you get used to it; cutting your ties with dreams also takes its toll…"

Lucy laid her hand on his shoulder and squeezed in a supportive gesture; "Is there anything else we should expect?" Porlyusica looked at him with all seriousness "Listen to me boy, this is not going to be easy… there are too many things you should be expecting and none will be pleasant for you, should you choose not to take this…" Natsu stood up interrupting her, "That is not an option, thanks for all your help… we'll come back in two weeks"

He picked the box from the table and walked outside with Lucy following close behind "Are you sure about this? she said this could be dangerous for you?"

"Yeah, and not doing it will also be dangerous for me, and for everyone else…" she hurried her pace and stood in front of him "Maybe we should look into it more! There needs to be another option" he simply walked around her and kept moving "There's not… if there was, she would know… and Gramps would have said something"

Lucy knew he was right, this was not a risk they would let him take if there was another choice. It wasn't that late, so they decided to stop by the guild to have dinner before going back to Natsu's house.

"Hey Luce… would you mind getting the food this time, I need to talk to Gramps about something" she smiled and pecked his lips "Sure, don't take long ok?" he nodded and walked towards the bar where Makarov was already in the middle of a heated drinking competition with Cana.

"Got a minute?" Makarov laughed and chugged half his mug "You won't defeat me Cana!" Natsu shook his head and got closer "Gramps… hey" Makarov saw the concerned face of his child and got off the bar as if he hadn't been drinking for the last few hours; it was impressive how he could sober up as quickly when he sensed his children needed him.

They got into his office and he closed the door behind them before taking a seat on his desk waiting for Natsu to speak his mind; "I need to make arrangements" Makarov gave him a confused look and so he decided to elaborate "You know… about what I want to happen to my stuff when…"

"If… you meant if… right?" Natsu gave him a half smile "Of course… so if things don't work out, I'd like to make arrangements for my stuff, and I mean all my stuff gramps, including the stuff you keep for me"

"Make a list brat, I'll take care of the rest"

Natsu left the office and walked towards his usual table, Lucy was already waiting for him with enough food to feed a small battalion. After they finished eating, they continued talking for a bit, she laughed and brushed his arm in any opportunity, so, at some point he shifted and sat her between his legs before wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on the crook of her neck.

"You smell so good dammit" she turned to bite his jaw before giggling, and he immediately tightened his arms around her waist "Careful Luce…" she disregarded the comment and bit again, this time pulling a bit.

He smiled and moved his hand inside her tight brushing his fingers on the soft skin; she started blushing "S-stop that… this is not the place!" he simply smirked "Well I guess you should have thought about that before, don't ya think?"

The interaction was interrupted when Levy dropped a pile of books on the table "Lu! I got some new books today!"

Lucy pulled her blushed self up and smiled "O-oh that sounds wonderful, what did you get?" Natsu pouted and pulled Lucy back to him "Uhm… guys am I interrupting something here?"

"N-no of course not!" she pinched Natsu under the table causing him to wince "Nah Levy of course not… why don't you girls catch up…" He kissed Lucy one more time before getting up to get a drink from the bar.

"Mira can I get a whiskey… let's make it a double" She gave him a sweet smile before pouring the tall glass "You guys are so cute! I always knew you were going to end up together!"

"Mhm… you called it… although it seems I also have a bet to collect from Cana's board" he gave her a wide grin and watched her stutter "W-what are you talking about?"

"I smell... "he took a whiff "expensive cigars, whiskey and a hint of a familiar static… I should probably tell gramps he didn't quit smoking after all" Mira got four shades redder than Erza's hair before Natsu felt something small hitting his head "OI!" a small ice cube had been thrown from the second floor and when he looked up, he saw Laxus and Gajeel staring back at him.

"Geez… I was joking for Mavis sake…" He took his drink and started walking up the stairs talking apparently to himself, however he knew the two slayers were completely able to hear him "Like I would risk getting Mira pissed off at me...come on"

"Well you have been pulling some stupid crap lately, so who knows…"

The three of them sat down on one of the tables where there was an already opened bottle "So… you and Mira uhm? how is that going?"

"Probably about the same that you and blondie… but at least I am not groping her in the middle of the guild"

"You fucking knew we could hear you, runt; think about Wendy" Natsu laughed "And mother Gajeel makes a second appearance! I certainly didn't think that would happen twice in my life!"

"I'm going to fucking beat you to a pulp Fire-breath!"

"Bring it on Metal brain!"

Laxus rolled his eyes before punching both on the head "Cut it out you too! You fucking know all fighting between you two is restricted for the next six months"

Natsu was upset about the comment but couldn't deny Laxus was right, however what annoyed him most was Gajeel showing the slightest hint of guilt and pity towards his situation "Wipe that expression of your face if you don't want me to remove it for you, asshole… I bet I can still beat your ass even without using magic…"

"Tsk… you wish you could…" They went on with their usual bantering for the next twenty minutes before Lucy signaled him letting him know it was time to go home. They walked calmly through the streets of Magnolia, only stopping once in Lucy's apartment to get a few things for her; Lucy got some writing utensils, clothes, and some of her shower essentials and moisturizer.

It didn't take long before they made it back home, it was funny for Lucy how the once messy barely standing building had become an actual safe space for her, of course it was in much better condition than the first time she was there. Once inside she made some tea for both and they sat down on the living room.

"Hey Natsu, I know you rebuilt the house not too long ago, but where did you ever get the money to do that? You are always paying for the stuff you burn down"

"Pff… I've got money weirdo…"

"If you have money why were you two always at my house?!" he grabbed his chin to consider the answer for a few seconds "Well, because you were there of course"

"Well that's sweet… but I've spent money on food for the tree of us more times than I can count!" he laughed loudly "AND I've helped paid your rent for years now! Can we just call it even?"

She shook her head "Wow… so you realize that we have been sharing expenses for years… and you sneaked into my house almost every night, we were practically living together!" she grabbed her stomach and laughed, but after a few seconds she noticed she was the only one laughing "D-did I say something wrong?"

"Nah… but then why don't we? I mean… I own this house and a part of the land anyways, you wouldn't have to pay rent, and whatever adjustments to the house you want to make I'll be ok with it" she choked on her tea a bit and coughed "Y-you mean you really want us to live together?"

His smile was as big as the first time he smiled at her "Of course I do weirdo… I love you; I don't know if we'll have a lot of time… or just a little… but I don't want to be apart from you"

"Have I told you that you are the sweetest most awesome goofball that has ever existed?"

He pretended to consider it "Hmm, nope, not today! anyways is that a yes?" She nodded excitedly, and he hugged her while he laid kisses all over her face; he was determined to make the best out of the time he had left, no matter what. "Hey Natsu, how much land do you actually own?"

He bit the inside of his cheek and tilted his head "Hmm… probably from the beginning of the steep road, and I'm pretty sure Happy and I bought the last of the lake land the year before last"

"Oh ok...WAIT WHAT? That's… more than half an acre"

"Oh yeah, at least until you get to the lake definitely half an acre… I'm not sure, I would have to ask gramps for the map"

"How the hell does no one know about it?" he shrugged "Not really that important, when I was little and I was asked to live over here, they told me I could build my house and then make payments on the land because they knew I was just about to start taking missions and didn't have the money for it… I told gramps that I wanted to have a big land because one day I was going to find Igneel and he was fucking huge!"

She saw sadness in his eyes and grabbed his hand immediately rubbing circles with her thumb "So, I told him that whenever I could I would give him money and asked him to take care of the purchase and papers since I'm no good for that, and so, I kept giving him a cut every time I could, some for land, some for safekeeping, some for damage payment… and I stopped right after Igneel died"

"Why didn't I know this?" she felt bad about this, it was not that long ago she had started to realize that he was not as dense as everyone thought, but the fact was that everyone assumed he was fine and didn't stop to ask much about it.

"I guess I'm not used to talking about my stuff… everyone else has lots of stuff on their plate as it is" she grabbed his head and pulled him to rest on her chest while her fingers brushed his pink hair "Silly dragon… I don't think you even realize how much you have on your plate all the time… I'm sorry we always depend on you"

He looked up and brushed her cheek "Don't be… I rather enjoy it" they stared at each other for a few minutes before Natsu felt the conversation was getting a bit too deep for him at this point, so he planted his face on her breasts and snuggled "Man, you are better than my pillow…"

"You are insufferable!" they both laughed while she brushed the hair off his face "Why don't we move all my stuff as soon as you feel better? Remember Porlyusica said you would be out for a couple of days"

"Tsk… she is exaggerating… that stuff is not going to take me down! I am the son of the Fire Dragon King!"

He walked to the table and took one of the vials, it had a slimy purple liquid inside that looked positively poisonous; he gulped and popped the cork and as soon as he got it close to his face he winced "OH BY MAVIS! THIS SMELLS LIKE SHIT!"

"Natsu! You need to drink it!" he shook his head vigorously "Nuh uh! That crazy ass old woman wants to kill me for sure!"

"Ok… I thought nothing could take down the son of the powerful fire dragon king…" he flinched at her comment, took a deep breath and drank the whole thing in one gulp. He went through different shades of green and covered his mouth to avoid throwing up due to the taste of it.

He soon regretted his words, he was sure the slimy liquid would be his doom. No amount of trains, magic cars or any other transportation could ever be compared to the potent stinky slime that he was sure was disintegrating his stomach.

He had been bed bound for two full days, in between dizziness, cold sweat, unintelligent mumbling, numbness and more; Lucy stood by his side all the time and tried to sooth him as much as possible.

"Lucy, is Natsu going to be ok?"

"I'm sure he will Happy… he just needs to hang on for a little more"

"Well at least he hasn't set anything on fire"

"That's right bud! I just feel bad for him, I have had to keep giving him that horrible stuff whether he wants to drink it or not"

The exceed shrugged "Well he needs to act like a big boy and take his medicine; I remember the time he forced cough syrup down my throat, so don't feel so bad about it"

Another day went by, Lucy noticed he wasn't grabbing his stomach threatening to hurl over the bed; however, she also noticed his eyes weren't moving as they would when someone slept, nor was he switching positions every certain time, he was just there, unmoving.

He finally woke up, his head spinning and in pain, his body felt heavy  _ -Well fuck it… I'm alive…"  _ he stood up from bed and walked to the living room where he heard voices.

"Aw Natsu you are finally up!" he covered his ears "Bud… not so loud please… this is worse than the day after Cana's drinking challenge"

Gray, who was sitting in the living room with Lucy and Juvia laughed remembering that moment "Wait… which one?" Natsu rubbed his temples and shook his head "I want to say the first one ever… but honestly this may be more like combining a couple of them"

"Well that sucks…" Natsu walked to the kitchen, got a glass and took a whiskey bottle out of one of the cabinets; when he looked up, they were all looking at him "What? If this is anything like that time with Cana, this should help!... No judging unless you feel like you've been hit by a train"

They decided to let him be, he sat next to Lucy and wrapped his arm around her while they continued with their conversation. At some point, Natsu's stomach growled loudly making Lucy laugh.

"I'm guessing you are hungry?"

"I'm fucking starving...for how long was I out?"

Gray smirked at him and looked up at the ceiling "Well you are always starving flame for brains, so it doesn't make a difference"

"Well at least I don't have to worry about what I eat! You are getting soft around the edges ice princess!"

Both Lucy and Juvia smacked the back of their heads causing them to flinch. "I have to go make some lunch… and Juvia is going to help me. Can you guys keep the house in one piece?"

"Aye ma'am!" Lucy shook her head smiling and leaned to kiss Natsu on the lips, he took advantage of the moment and pulled her to sit on his lap before deepening it; after a few seconds, Lucy pushed him away and blushed before leaving for the kitchen followed by Juvia.

Gray just stared at him for a couple of seconds, he crossed his arms above his now naked chest "Wow… you need a moment alone man?"

"Well, you are the one that's almost naked, I could ask the same thing"

"Dammit!" Gray stood up and started searching for his clothes "Anyways, how are things between you too? It seems neither is angry anymore"

"Nah… I mean I guess we still have lots of stuff to figure out you know? but I ain't about to waste my time" The itching on the back of his neck got stronger and he started scratching around the collar.

It didn't take long for the girls to come out of the kitchen holding different platters and they all sat down to eat some lunch, Gray and Natsu with their usual banter which was extremely normal, while Juvia and Lucy giggled at their childish behavior.

Despite being hungry, Natsu pushed the food on his plate several times before taking a few bites and putting the plate aside.

"I thought you were starving" Lucy looked at him with concern and laid her hand on top of his, "I was… I'm just not that hungry anymore"

Gray almost dropped his fork on the table "Should we call Wendy? That ain't normal"

"Don't exaggerate princess, I'm fine"

Lucy nodded "It's probably your body still adjusting to that awful purple goo"

"Well if you are not eating anymore, maybe we could do something else for fun… you need to get out of the house a little bit; why don't we go to the lake?"

Gray and Juvia nodded in agreement, they both thought it was a great idea, which lasted for about two seconds "No" they all turned to look at Natsu with his arms crossed above his chest and a stern look.

"But you love going to the lake… we could take Happy fishing, and we could swim a bit!"

"I said no… "He shook his head and rubbed his hands on his face "I'm sorry… can we just take a raincheck on that? how about we go to the guild to see what everyone's up to?"

"Sure Natsu…" the three mages looked rather confused about his behavior but decided to give him some time, no one was expecting him to be completely back.

* * *

 

"Didn't take you for the reading type Gajeel…"

"Shut up cat… I'm trying to concentrate here…" Lily flew closer to Gajeel and landed on his shoulder "You are going to need Levy for that…"

"Thank you, genius! I'm glad I asked you...tsk…" The black exceed rolled his eyes and went to the kitchen to make some tea "Are you going to tell me what that is?"

"I'm not even sure… it's about dragons, Bunny girl found it in the creeper's place… I'm not sure… but I think I understand some stuff"

"Are the pretty pictures very descriptive?"

"OI! I CAN READ JUST FINE STUPID CAT!" he growled in anger and made the walls from his house tremble a bit "Why are you reading it by yourself? This is Levy's specialty after all"

"Because there may be stuff here that I don't want her to know just yet… and I wanted to make sure before I asked for her help"

"Like the fact that you are pretty much bonded, and you lied to her about that?" Gajeel's face went pale "W-what?!"

"Oh, come on… don't play dumb, you know I'm right. There's no way that you guys are not bonded already"

Gajeel turned around to keep reading the book, he reached out to get a piece of scrap metal and took a bite before dropping the book again "If I tell her she'll get all worried! just like Salamander's girl did!"

"Sure… lying is so much better…" The dragon slayer rubbed his face with both hands "It's not, I just don't know how to have that conversation with her! We are usually in the middle of so much trouble… she is going to freak out"

As if being summoned, the door opened startling them both "I'm home!" Gajeel looked at Lily and took a deep breath "Would you mind?"

The exceed smiled at him and left without asking any questions, leaving Gajeel and Levy by themselves. "Hey Shrimp" she ran and practically jumped to his lap before placing a sweet kiss on his lips; she moved forward and started planting open mouthed kisses on his jaw, she grabbed his dark hair and moved to kiss his neck giving small bites here and there. He rubbed her back and lowered his hands until he was cupping her ass.

"Shrimp…" she merely hummed in response "Mhm?" he growled a bit at the sensation of her hot tongue running circles on his skin "I… we…" she bit down on his neck causing him to squeeze her ass. She lowered her hands and got ahold of his belt before he pushed her away and sat her down.

"Stop! I'm trying to talk to you dammit!"

"Geez!... What?" She pouted but immediately noticed his serious face "Ok, I'm sorry… what's going on?"

"I… ahem... "He didn't even know how to begin, but knew his shrimp was smart enough to connect the dots if he made a mistake "I may have lied to you… a little"

"Elaborate…" she crossed her arms above her chest and frowned.

"Ok...I told you about the bonds when we talked about Salamander and Bunny girl, and I said that she could be in danger if something happened to him" Levy nodded and got closer expecting for him to continue "I may… have… downplayed it a little…"

She blinked a couple of times "How much is a little?" he took a deep breath and closed his eyes "Dragons mate for life shrimp… if something happens to her, he will go mad with pain and eventually death will claim him… same goes for her"

Levy didn't look so surprised and it seemed Gajeel was now the confused one "Why are you not panicking?" she shrugged and crooked her mouth a little "Well… sure it makes sense… some humans lose their will to live when they lose the love of their life Gajeel… the only difference is dragons don't have a choice, but it's not uncommon for people to give up…"

"That's not the only thing…" he could hear his heart pulsing on his ears, he balled his hands and spoke before he lost the courage "I told you I wouldn't let that happen without you knowing… I told you I would let you make your choice whether it was to be with me forever or not… even by that time, it was already too late… I just panicked… a little"

He closed his eyes and braced himself for the punching and yelling, but it never came; she pinched both his cheeks and pulled to the sides forcing a funny face on him "Stupid Gajeel… just so you know I wouldn't have let you leave even if you wanted… you are stuck with me. Even if you weren't a dragon slayer, I would probably lose my will if you…" she didn't finish, in a split second his lips were on hers and his hands were removing the tears that were already falling from her cheeks.

They separated for a second and he rested his forehead on hers "You are something else shrimp…" she closed her eyes and sighed "I love you Gajeel".

"Hey Shrimp…" she opened her eyes and discovered he still had his eyes closed and was biting the inside of his cheek "Yeah?" he took a deep breath, and licked his dry lips before continuing "Marry me?"

The days went by quickly after that, they gave the big announcement back in the guild and their friends couldn't be happier; this was just what they needed to mark the beginning of a better cycle.

Mira had been planning everyone's wedding for years, and despite fainting as soon as she heard the news, she quickly recovered herself and went to get her wedding scrapbook (one of them).

Everyone was so excited that the sound of the doors opening went unnoticed, however once the magic energy was felt, the guild went quiet and turned to observe the clean looking man standing inside their home.

He wore a white knee length jacket, black trousers with long black boots; there was a symbol on his jacket above where his heart was… the same one Natsu had carved on his side during his unpleasant stay at the council.

"Greetings Fairy Tail" the man was formal, he had short brown hair and small black eyes, covered by thick framed glasses that he pushed back in place with his index finger "I'm looking for Master Makarov Dreyar and Natsu Dragneel"

The guild tensed at his words, and it was so quiet that a needle falling to the ground would have sounded like a gun going off. Natsu pursed his lips and removed Lucy’s hand from his arm; he stood up and used his best cocky grin "YO! took you guys long enough; I thought you'd forgotten about me!"

"Mr. Dragneel! how could we forget such a… peculiar individual" Makarov cleared his throat "Your business here?" the council's envoy pretended to look shocked "Well sir of course this is a follow up visit on Mr. Dragneel… you were informed of such visits were you not?"

Makarov gritted his teeth, apparently the council had a flare for drama "I was, but I thought the council would at least have the decency to let us know when such visits would take place"

"Master do not confuse our politeness with foolishness… it will always be best to catch people off guard if we want to obtain answers. Please allow me to introduce myself… I'm Remy, Remy Radoub… I'm the council's information specialist"

Natsu knew what he was, another interrogator. The mere thought sent shivers down his spine and made him dizzy, he had been back home for about a week and have never felt as weak as he was now and just the idea of going into a room with the man in front of him caused his heart to race.

This went unnoticed to everyone except for the other Dragon Slayers in the room; if you looked at Natsu, he seemed calm, even smug, unmoved and strong as usual… but once you heard his heart racing, him discreetly gulping, the fact that he put his hands inside his pockets to avoid people noticing him shake… those were all things that could go unnoticed for everyone but them.

"So! Are we doing this or are we going to keep wasting everyone's time Ramon?"

"It's Remy… we'll need to go somewhere quiet… perhaps your home Mr. Dragneel… I hear it's outside of town"

"You will stay here and use the basement Mr. Radoub, if you think for a second that you are taking my child away… you are very wrong, you will proceed as agreed in my house!"

"Fine… lead the way" Natsu gave Lucy a small smile and placed a kiss on her forehead, when he was walking he noticed some stares, mostly from Gajeel, Laxus and Wendy; he hated those pity looks, the ones who silently tried to tell him everything would be ok and that they knew what was happening… they didn't know, how could they?

Lucy almost went into a full panic attack, her chest was in pain, she couldn't breathe, she started sweating and shaking uncontrollably, she felt tears on her face and held her knees before feeling Levy's hand on her shoulder; she immediately pushed it away for no reason "D-don't, p-please"

"Lu! What's happening, are you ok?"

"I…" she couldn't even talk, she didn't know what was happening; she pulled her shirt away from her neck in an attempt to calm down, but it still felt as if she was inside a small fish tank filling with water "W-what's… happening"

Gajeel stood behind Levy watching Lucy shake before holding Levy's shoulders and speaking to both of them "I… don't think this is coming from you…" she looked at him in shock "But he was here! he wasn't in pain, he was ok!"

He stared at her knowing the answer but said nothing, Lucy kept staring at him until a sweet voice broke the awkward moment "Was he?..."

"Wendy?..." She avoided their eyes and sat across from Lucy "Do we really know he is ok? just when the council guy started talking, I heard his heart… his breathing… he was more than scared I know he was"

They stayed in silence for a while; Natsu had always been fearless, strong and the undying soul of Fairy tail; realizing he could feel that type of fear for a simple man that any other day he could have defeated with one finger was something no one was ready to do.

The guild hall was quiet for the next hour and a half, everyone was waiting for the agony of waiting to finish; they heard smalls steps coming up the stairs and waited to see both Natsu and Remy emerging, but to their surprise only the last came out.

He was putting his gloves back on and he calmly smiled at them "I would give him a few minutes… then he may need some assistance to come back up. I'll send you my full report tomorrow Master Makarov… and I'll be back… soon"

As soon as he left Lucy started running towards the stairs but was stopped by Laxus "Get out of my way!" he shook his head "I'll take care of him Blondie… go sit down"

She was about to refuse and fight her way downstairs when Makarov intervened "I think that is the best… Lucy, dear, please go take a seat"

Laxus slowly made his way downstairs and as he moved forward, he started to hear different noises, small whines, heavy breathing; he was worried, for him Natsu was the most annoying individual alive, just like an annoying smaller brother although he would never admit to it.

He took the final steps inside the basement and that's when he saw him. The man who had defeated him when he tried to bring the guild down with the thunder palace, the one who had won the war for them at a great personal cost, the man that no matter the pain and blood loss would always stand up and fight until he came out victorious… laying on the floor with his face on the ground, hugging his stomach and leaning back and forward barely able to breath.

Laxus got closer to him and noticed there were deep scratches on the back of his neck and his shoulders, the angle could only mean they were self-inflicted and for one second, he thought about asking what had happened to him, but instead he sat on the floor and waited it out.

More than half an hour passed before Natsu could straighten himself out and grab his shirt from the chair.

"You need to let Wendy take a look at that you know?" Laxus was starting to hate quiet Natsu, it seemed unnatural for him. They walked up the stairs and as soon as they came out people moved immediately towards them to ask the thousand questions going through their minds, but it was almost as if Natsu couldn't hear them.

He walked passed them and stopped at the door without looking back "I need a minute" that's all he said before leaving the guild behind. Lucy was struggling in between following him and letting him cool off but ultimately decided to allow him some space.

Natsu was dragging his feet for some time until he felt his stomach was going to leave his body, he entered an alley and rested on the wall before throwing up.

Visions were making his way to the surface, things he didn't remember, things he couldn't tell if were real or not… he had heard before from Zeref's lips that he had a life before the one he remembered, he had even seen the flashbacks of his mother and father before, despite not really remembering them.

Now that a stranger had done something which according to his later words felt as "A hot iron stick put through your nose, twirled inside your head and pulled to remove your brain in one move" the images of a young version of himself holding hands with a smiley black-haired boy kept popping up.

Surely what he saw had been planted by the council, of course they were trying to drive him crazy to take him away! What better way to make him go mad than showing him fake memories of his family; however, the memories that shook him the most were the ones of his dead, and his revival.

For a second, he thought of Aporia, the promise she made of making the pain go away sounded good at that point, but he knew better than to trust a person who had drifted into darkness.

"I can't…" He closed his eyes and tried to steady himself; every time he closed his eyes, he saw the same.

_ A hill covered by green grass and big trees, a woman with long dark hair waving from a small house, he was running to get to her and he wasn't alone… he turned to the side to find his older brother, he had the biggest smile Natsu had ever seen on someone. _

_ It all went dark in a second, he blinked a couple of times and noticed the fire, the roof of his house was burning. His mother laid above him holding him tightly, she was crying and kept whispering "You are ok baby, I've got you…" _

_ He tried to reach out to touch her face; he was a couple of inches away when he felt her stiffen and gasp; he felt his clothes and face all wet and looked down but the only thing he saw was the color red. His mother's eyes were wide open, blood trickling down her mouth and something sharp was going through her chest and stomach. _

_ Natsu heard screaming and he turned to see his father holding his brother, he had a big cut on his head and was laying on the ground. The bulky pink haired man laid his son underneath the table and ran towards Natsu; suddenly his mother's body was pulled away and he saw it, a big dragon flying above his house, his sharp black claws dripping in blood from where his mother's body was still hanging. _

_ The Dragon circled back and with a swift move he threw his mother's body to the ground; it bounced a couple of times causing some of her bones to crack, and more blood to spatter on the floor; the sound echoed through his head over and over. He was sitting on the floor covering his ears trying to make the sound go away, he didn't hear his father screaming for him to run. _

_ When Natsu finally looked up and tried to reach his father's hand, the dragon swept the man off the ground and held him by one of his ankles. He barely had time to scream before the dragon grabbed his torso with a second claw and pulled, separating his body in half and letting him fall in a pool of blood on the ground. _

_ He couldn't cry, the shock was too much; his brother was still on the ground, and it seemed the dragon hadn't noticed him. If we could just distract him long enough his big brother would be ok. _

_ The four-year-old boy took the decision that would cost his life in a matter of seconds, little did he know his brother although still unable to move was already awake. Natsu stood tall with his small hands fisted on his sides. _

_ "GO AWAY!" he wanted to be brave, he wanted to keep his face up and look at the dragon who had taken almost everything from him, everything except his big brother "I SAID GO AWAY!" With a quick move, the dragon slammed his tail against the already weak construction causing everything to collapse above them. _

_ Last thing he remembered was his body in pain, unable to move, tears on his face, he couldn't talk but he heard someone calling his name "Natsu! Natsu!" his brother was staring at him covered in blood, tears staining his face. _

_ He was so worried that his big brother was injured, there was so much blood. He felt like he couldn't breath and grabbed his brother's shirt while he tried to gasp, Natsu coughed and felt a warm liquid on his mouth and when he wiped it from his face, he saw red. He didn't understand what was happening, but he felt cold and dizzy, like if everything got darker little by little, all the sounds were getting muffled and the pain was less noticeable every passing second. _

_ The pain he felt the next time he opened his eyes was very similar to what he felt the last time he had closed them; he couldn't breathe well until all the green gooey liquid left his mouth; his body felt stiff and suddenly he felt a pair of arms wrap around him "You are ok little brother, I've got you" _

He shook his head and realized he was still sitting on the alley, he didn't know how long it had been but it was starting to get darker so he decided to go back to the guild; he felt as if he was being observed all the way back, he turned to look everywhere and tried to use his heightened senses but there was nothing there.

The words kept echoing in his head  _ "You are ok, I've got you" _ those words were not to be trusted; if the images in his head were true then he had heard those words before catastrophe stroke, before he was drenched by his mother's blood, before his brother turned him into a demon that could endanger everything he loved.

He opened the doors of the guild and walked directly to the bar, he knew his friends would be observing and decided to avoid their eyes.

"Mira, can I get a double?" she looked at him and bit the inside of her cheek "Maybe it's not such a good idea, don't you think?"

He gave her a half smile and tilted his head "Well I ain't here because of all my great ideas Mira… how about that drink?" she nodded and got a glass for him before going to the other end of the bar. Natsu felt arms wrap around his torso and he flinched a bit, but he knew it was Lucy so eventually he relaxed and grabbed her hands.

This didn't go unnoticed for her "Are you ok?" she expected him to lie, to do as he usually did and carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, to give a fake smile and pretend nothing happened, but instead he just squeezed her hand and stayed quiet for a little.

"No… I don't think I am" she was more than a bit surprised; she pulled his arms and urged him to turn to face her, before bringing him to rest his forehead on her shoulder and hugging him tightly. She ran her fingers through his hair and notice his breathing, he was definitely trying to hold back his sobbing in front of everyone.

Natsu hugged her back and remained hidden by the warmth of her arms, her scent helped him relax a bit and he got lost in her once more until he heard the words that would make him shiver for years to come, "You're ok… I've got you"

 


	26. Ghost from the past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu questions his sanity after regaining some of his memories, the horrible images haunted him when a ghost from the past comes back to mess with his head a bit more, he knew it couldn't be real, after all he had made sure the man had died. 
> 
> It all becomes too overwhelming causing a breach between Lucy and Natsu that ends once again with his life being in danger. 
> 
> Note: Stupid summaries... :3 persistent note isn't it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK SORRY about my long absence, had to deal with some work stuff and family commitments *Bows in apology*
> 
> Additional notes: Adding more characters, these are all names of mythology btw, they have actual backstories that I used for this story, I have a few other surprises planned but probably for the next chapter or two, the story is developing a bit along with the characters, hopefully you'll enjoy it.
> 
> Aporia (OC- name origin: Latin): Perplexity, doubt, embarrassment, disorder.
> 
> Nephele: (Greek Mythology) the cloud whom Zeus created in the image of Hera to trick Ixion. She was a cloud nymph.
> 
> Helle: (Greek Mythology) goddess of the Hellespont, a body of water bridging the Aegean and the Black Seas. It is said that when she fell to the ocean while escaping with her brother, Poseidon transformed her into a sea-goddess.
> 
> -Ace-
> 
> "We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there."
> 
> ― Pascal Mercier,Night Train to Lisbon

 

"Mira, can I get a double?" she looked at him and bit the inside of her cheek "Maybe it's not such a good idea, don't you think?"

He gave her a half smile and tilted his head "Well I ain't here because of all my great ideas… how about that drink?" she nodded and got a glass for him before going to the other end of the bar. Natsu felt arms wrap around his torso and he flinched a bit, but he knew it was Lucy so eventually he relaxed and grabbed her hands.

This didn't go unnoticed for her "Are you ok?" she expected him to lie, to do as he usually did and carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, to give a fake smile and pretend nothing happened, but instead he just squeezed her hand and stayed quiet for a little.

"No… I don't think I am" she was more than a bit surprised; she pulled her arms and urged him to turn to face her, before bringing him to rest his forehead on her shoulder and hugging him tightly. She ran her fingers through his hair and notice his breathing, he was definitely trying to hold back his sobbing in front of everyone.

Natsu hugged her back and remained hidden by the warmth of her arms, her scent helped him relax a bit and he got lost on her once more until he heard the words that would make him shiver for years to come, "You're ok… I've got you"

* * *

 

Those damned words were hunting him everywhere, it was almost as if people would jinx their fates by pronouncing that single dreaded sentence; he tightened his hold on Lucy, his fists held to the back of her shirt  _ -Don't say that… don't…-  _ Lucy bit her lip as soon as she heard his voice in her head, she could feel his suffering and remembered the panic she had felt not long ago.

She brushed his hair with her fingernails and whispered into his ear "Why don't we go home?" he nodded on her shoulder and took a few deep breaths before standing up, his eyes looking at the floor while his hair covered his eyes to avoid the stares of his friends.

"Wait for me outside ok? I'll be right there" he didn't respond, he nodded again and kept walking towards the doors, just as he was told to.

As soon as he crossed the door, Lucy had a couple of mages and a worried blue cat next to her "Lucy, what's wrong with Natsu?" she shook her head, "I don't know Happy, but could you stay with Carla and Wendy tonight? I'm sorry to ask"

"Aye, don't worry… just… make him better Lucy" she patted his head and smiled trying to show confidence where there was none "I'll do my best"

Erza and Gray gave her a look, something was bothering them and she knew it, but for some reason they remained quiet staring between her and anything else, as if trying to figure out the correct words "Ok you are both making me dizzy… what's happening?"

The magnificent Titania, the Fairy Queen, holder of incredible power and destroyer of great armies seemed to have left her confidence with a different outfit when she tried to vocalize her question "I… he seems so…" she stared at the floor and felt Gray's hand on her shoulder "Has he said something to you? About… anything…"

Gray shook his head "This is so unlike him… I don't think I've ever seen him break down… not like this"

Her throat constricted and it took all of her strength to respond without raising or breaking her voice "That doesn't mean he never has… did you ever consider that?" both of them stared at her with a mix of emotions, sure, it was illogical for someone to be happy all the time, or to overcome things as quickly as he did, they knew it… so why had they never considered that also applied to their friend?

Erza shook her head "I guess we didn't…" Lucy took a deep breath and held her hand "I'm sorry, that was unfair… I didn't either; I guess it was easier to think he never got tired of carrying the extra weight you know?" the three of them shared a quiet minute before Lucy excused herself to catch up with Natsu.

She walked towards the doors and once she got close enough she noticed he was whispering, it almost sounded like he was having an argument but once she was outside he was standing there acting as if nothing had happened; she could see beyond his tricks now, it almost seemed as if he was trying too hard and the thought of him always trying as hard as now made her incredibly sad.

"Shall we go?" He half smiled and nodded, she knew it was a forced smile but took it anyways before grabbing him by the waist and letting him rest his arm on her shoulders. They walked in silence for a while before curiosity got the best of her "Why did you walk away?"

Lucy felt him stiffen and waited patiently for him to elaborate "I just had to, it was a bit… over…whelming?" she nodded and rested her head on his shoulders "Sometimes things can become overwhelming… but you need to trust us"

"It's not that I don't trust you Luce… come on, you know it's not like that"

"Ok, so… tell me what it is then"

"I can't talk about what I don't know Luce" He shook his head and brushed his hair with his free hand "I saw something I had no memory of… and I don't know… I can't… can we just not get into it now?"

"Ok, can I at least ask what it was about?" He took a deep breath "My brother… my parents too" and there it was, Lucy's brain scanned all memories to try to find one occasion in which Natsu had referred to Zeref as his brother; no, never had he used the endearing term to speak about the man who had stolen more lives than they could count, never had he looked so broken by the term one would usually hold deeply at heart.

They finally got home but by then the elephant in the room was occupying most of the space between them. He preferred that awkward silence than responding to more of her questions and that made him angry at himself; at that moment he didn't have the words to explain.

He trusted his friends with his life, he understood emotions based on situations… he knew he was sad when Lisanna died, angry when Gray tried to sacrifice himself to finish Deliora, he knew that when thinking Lucy had died, the mix of anger, sadness and devastation had taken him somewhere so deep within, that scared him… but then again he had reacted to that; he had cried for Lisanna, yelled at Gray, and… ok he wasn't really all there when he thought Lucy died but he had heard the others speak, and he knew it hadn't been pretty.

He couldn't explain why he had always felt the need to prove himself stronger, to defend the people important to him, to carry their burdens even if it meant risking his life; he couldn't explain how he had always forced himself to remain happy despite feeling the sadness, but the idea of not knowing why he was sad sounded ridiculous. So yes, he gained peace from the awkward silence between him and the woman he loved, and yes, he hated himself for it.

Natsu walked inside the house and heard the door close but didn't hear footsteps behind him and when he turned around he saw Lucy resting her forehead on the door; he could have sworn he heard her inside his head saying "How do I fix him?" of course he shook his head and disregarded that idea; for him it made more sense to think he was finally going crazy.

He was angry; he hated himself for bringing her into this mess, for asking her to move in, for being so selfish; he was angry at her too, she should have let him die along with his brother, but no… she was determined to keep him earthbound next to her, both of them were selfish, how could they not be? There was one more thing and he wasn't sure what the feeling was, but he felt it when she flinched at the sound of him saying the word "brother", as if it meant a sin, as if the word reflected the most grotesque creature before her… but could he blame her? His brother was after all the Spriggan King.

It took him only a few long steps to reach her, Lucy noticed right away but when she was about to turn around, he placed both hands on the door, one on each side of her head; she could feel his breathing on her nape and shivered.

"There's no fixing me Luce… the sooner you understand that the better"

She cursed herself for slipping, of course he had heard her "I can't believe that" he chuckled a bit, but not out of happiness; the sound carried a sense of pain and sorrow that invaded Lucy's heart immediately "If I believed there was no saving you… we would have parted ways long ago Natsu"

He knew she was right, if she had given up on him then this would have never happened, she would be safe from all the pain he had brought on her during the last few months "Have you ever considered that maybe we should have?" her breath hitched; the implications of what he was saying were too big for her to consider.

Natsu's mouth and body were basically running on their own, and he could only observe as if he was an innocent bystander. His hand moved on its own and slid slowly from the door landing on her waist; that simple touch made her feel warm, but the emotions going through her heart were a mess.

He moved his hand to the soft skin of her stomach and his fingers traced circles around her navel "You never ask Luce… ask…"

Lucy gulped loudly, her breath got caught in her throat "What?" he got closer to her, and as he spoke she felt his warm breath on her ear; there was a tingling sensation that went all the way from that spot and ended between her legs, and she cursed herself for not being able to hide her love and desire for him.

"Ask me what I want…" 

He thought her speeding heartbeat was the most beautiful sound he could ever hear; she tried to steady her breathing, but it was almost impossible, and after a minute, her silence was enough of an answer for him.

He knew she couldn't understand what was happening, or what would happen eventually.  _ -Why did I let it get this far?... _

Natsu took a deep breath to take in as much of her scent as he could before he moved away from the door and walked to the kitchen, he got a glass and retrieved the open whiskey bottle from the top cabinet, he poured himself a drink and took a sip; at that point Lucy had snapped out of the trance and had followed him to the kitchen. Her blush starting at her face and reaching to her chest."What are you doing?"

"I am obviously getting a drink Luce"

"And you thought now was the best time to do that? What the hell was that?"

"As good as any other" he took a sip from his glass and avoided her eyes "And that… " he looked at his glass and traced the rim with his finger "You demanded I be honest, and told me if I couldn't tell you then I should say so… but when given the opportunity to ask, you may not want to know the answer"

"Are you fucking kidding me Natsu? Why would you think that I don't want to?" he didn't respond and took another sip of his whiskey. Lucy moved her hands to her hips and narrowed her eyes "Are you even listening to me?" his silence hurt her more than she expected and being as short tempered as she was didn't help "Well is not like you ever do anyways"

"I'm always listening Luce, you are the one who never does" she was angry, angrier than she had been in a long time "I've been trying to! But you refuse to talk…"

He slammed the glass on the table and turned "I wish I could stop… " She was surprised and confused by his reaction but didn't have time to respond "You really want to know that I could feel your anger when I called him brother? That it made me angry at you because even if it's a little bit… I remembered how he was before? How I was before? The pain he went through when I was gone and how it was because of me that he got so fucked up?"

She opened and closed her mouth several times in search for a response but found herself speechless "Or maybe you would rather ask me if I really wanted you to rewrite the damn book! Come on Luce… ask!" She understood now what he meant; she wanted to know but was also incredibly scared of what she would find out, and he knew that.

"Natsu… stop" he scrunched his nose and stared at her "My Mother, my father, my brother, Igneel… they all ruined themselves saving me, you almost did the same… do you want to ask about that?"

Lucy was rubbing her temples and failing to hold her tears "Stop…"

"Maybe you should ask how good it felt to let the demon take over" her eyes met his and she knew he was deadly serious; Lucy felt incredibly stupid, she knew him best and yet she knew nothing at all, there were too many things she wasn't ready to know and there she was being harsh to Gray and Erza for not being there for him.

"You should go home Luce… to your home I mean, as I said, there's nothing else for you to fix here" he simply turned around and walked away from her without bothering to look back. He got into the bathroom and held to the sink for a few seconds, avoiding his reflection, afraid of what he might find.

Natsu felt that if he searched in the mirror, he would find END himself looking back at him, laughing at his humanity to let him know that no matter what he did, he would end up burning everything he loved to ashes. He rubbed his face and got the shower running, he threw his clothes to the other end of the room and let the hot water fall on his face to cover the tears that he had been holding. He was sure this would give her enough time to leave without the awkwardness of him standing there.

Lucy was baffled, she was unaware if the feeling she had was sadness or anger, but it was strong and rising by the second. She balled her hands and shook her head, "What in the name of Mavis is that idiot thinking?" she stood tall and walked to the bathroom slamming the door open without warning; she looked up and down at him with so much indignation that she almost missed the fact that he was in the shower both arms resting on the wall, letting the hot water run down his perfectly formed body, and making his pink hair stick to his forehead.

He just stared at her completely dumbfounded; she was frowning and biting her lip, so much fire in her eyes that it made him hungry for the element he had been missing so much; for a few seconds they both stared at each other without saying a word and just when he was about to break the silence, she stomped her way inside the shower without removing her clothes and forced him to face her.

"Luce…" she simply shook her head and pushed him against the wall "You are such as ass, you don't get it… do you?" he took a step forward and opened his mouth to speak but was shoved again "Who do you think you are to imply that I don't care?"

He tried to move again to face her, this time he saw her hand moving to hit him, but he was faster than her; he grabbed her wrist and held it tightly "Stop Luce, you are going to hurt yourself…"

"Oh, I'm sorry… you are doing such a good job at that yourself!" she moved her other hand to push him away, but it only ended in him grabbing both her hands and pushing her to the other wall of the shower.

Steam was accumulating in the small room, causing the temperature to rise, and that didn't help the situation they were facing; he was still angry at her, however that anger was transforming into something that was difficult to explain for him… the fire in her eyes, her pink top completely drenched and now almost transparent, and the passion he felt coming from her anger that surely matched his own, it was too much for him to bear.

Natsu pushed her wrists away with a bit more strength than necessary and turned around to face the water stream once more "I told you to go home…" He bit his lip and spoke his words with as much anger as he could although, in reality, there was nothing but pain behind them "I'm sure there are plenty of things for you to fix somewhere else"

Lucy felt the fire in the pit of her stomach burning everything on its way, and she couldn't stop herself from reacting when he turned his back and almost slammed him against the wall; she poked the scar on his back making him wince, his skin was mostly healed but was still sensitive and he couldn't help but let his mind take him back to that day.

_ He could feel the knife cutting through his skin again, slowly digging into him. This continued for some time,although he wasn't sure how long it had been; Arlo had carved something below his nape. _

_ "I think the words suits you… traitor" _

Natsu was brought back to reality by Lucy's voice "What the hell is wrong with you!? You are not even going to turn around and face me?" She pushed him once more and he had to stop himself from growling "Stop it Luce…"

XXX – Small Lemon, Stop reading if you are not ok with this type of reading - XXX

"Or what?" She pushed him again and this time it was too much for him; he turned around and pinned her pressing her wrists to the stone wall, their breaths were short and fast and without a warning he grabbed her nape and pressed his lips towards hers violently; she pushed his shoulders once before melting in his touch and pulling him by the hair on the back of his head.

It took only a few hot kisses for her to start fumbling with the button of her skirt, but removing it turned into a challenging task since all her attention was somewhere else. Natsu noticed her intention and simply pulled her skirt up before ripping her panties with one hand and turning her to face the wall.

His hand found its way to her pleasure point and he pulled her hips towards him, he put his knee between her legs to help spread them apart; she was panting, he had barely touched her, and she was about ready to explode, and suddenly in one single thrust he was completely inside of her.

She moaned loudly at the sudden pleasure and pushed her hips back even more to meet his moves; Natsu kept running circles on her pleasure point while pushing himself harder into her, he grabbed her hair and pulled her head to the side before biting the crook of her neck, eliciting the most delicious moan from her lips, that was enough to send her over the edge and he felt her muscles contracting around his length.

He continued thrusting harder and harder; the sound of her voice saying his name over and over fueled him. His right hand pulled her hips closer to him while his left hand made its way to her breast to squeeze it; he pushed harder every time until he finished.

XXX – Continue reading - XXX

He rested his forehead on the wall and his chin on her shoulder while they both tried to catch their breaths, but still no word left their mouths.

She turned around to look at him, her golden hair completely soaked and sticking to her face and neck; she was still wearing her clothes although they were completely undone; even in this mess…she was beautiful.

"I…"

"Don't… I am going to leave… and you are going to think and make a choice" she took a deep breath and he could see the tears forming in her eyes again "you are either letting me in or pushing me out… but this…" she pointed at him and then back at herself "This can't happen unless we are both in it, do you understand? I grew up with a father that distanced himself from me… and by the time he wanted to change, the world wasn't willing to give us the time we needed"

"I am not like you father"

"Yeah… in many ways you are… you are a risk taker, you hide your feelings from the people closest to you and push them away… I would say you are quite like him"

"You know we are bound together"

"I wish that was enough reason for either of us to stay…" she wiped the tears from her eyes and gave him a determined look "I love you… and I know you love me, but I am not going to be somewhere where I am constantly lied to and made to feel like I did something wrong"

He ran his fingers through his hair "I told you I would lie! I told you I would hurt you!"

"That… you did… I think we should admit neither of us is a good listener uhm?"

He bit his lip and tried to hide his feelings away "I guess we are not"

Lucy ran her thumb against his cheek and removed the hair from his face "This was a good way to say goodbye… for now" she brushed his lips with her fingers before exiting the shower and leaving nothing more than a trail of water behind her and him alone with his thoughts.

She walked towards the bedroom where she dried herself up and changed into a pair of jeans and a baby blue crop top, she got an overnight bag and left the room; when she was about to leave she stopped outside of the bathroom, the water wasn't running anymore and she could hear him whispering again, but as soon as she pressed her ear to the door he stopped.

Natsu saw her walk away and close the bathroom door, it took a few minutes for him to get back to reality, he started breathing faster, almost desperately, when everything started sinking in "What the fuck did I do…"

_ "You did what we always do…" _

"Shut up…"

_ "We break everything we touch… you know that by now" _

"She is strong, I would never break her"

_ "That's what I thought… and look at how things ended up for us" _

"You are not even here, why won't you leave me alone…"

_ "I'm never leaving you again little brother" _

"You're fucking dead… you are dead… this is all in my head"

_ "Well I guess you could say we have a tendency to lose our minds… so, maybe…" _

A small noise on the door caused Natsu to turn, he even signaled the apparition before him to stay quiet until he heard the front door and he knew she was gone. When he turned back his brother was gone, and he rubbed his eyes with his hands "Am I really losing it?..."

* * *

 

Aporia sat in a dark stone room big enough to hold a ball, big arcs and pillars on its sides held black flags with a red claw looking image in the middle. She lovingly brushed her fingers on the orb in front of her where she saw him breaking down over the celestial mage. She wanted to comfort him in a motherly way, just as she had done for her king once, but how could she if he was still unwilling to see reason.

"Nephele…" a dark purple cloud started spreading through the ground, it moved slowly until a silhouette became visible, and a woman emerged from the fog. She wasn't too short nor too tall, her face was almost ethereal; her hair reached all the way to the back of her knees, it was a light pink-gray, almost the color you see on the sky when the clouds eat the last rays of sun before it rains. She was barefoot, the only thing adorning her feet being a pair of black ankle bracelets; she wore a dark blue bikini top with a matching skirt that rode low on her hips, her creamy legs visible by the openings on each side of it that reached way above her tights.

She pressed her right hand to her heart and knelt before Aporia "My lady, to what do I owe this honor?"

"The day is dry and sunny Nephele… too perfect for fire to catch on, but we don't want that… yet"

The dark purple cloud circled her as she gave her mistress a crooked smile, it moved at her will as another extremity. Nephele was a loyal servant and had been for centuries, she was known as the cloud-nymph and her domain as her name stated, spread to wherever her clouds could reach.

"Would my lady prefer a cloudy day?"

"Dear friend, you know I always would… although maybe since Helle has behaved lately, your clouds could be accompanied by a little rain"

Nephele's smile grew wider, her daughter hadn't been allowed out in so long. Helle was impatient and always changing, temperamental as the sea-goddess of Hellespont and had been known for causing ruckus even for the standards held inside Nihil.

"She will not disappoint you today"

"I'm sure she won't, but please let her know that if she makes us proud, it will be her honor to present Chrysomallus to the prince"

A few happy tears fell from the cloud-nymph's face while she kept her hands covering her mouth "What have we ever done to deserve such an honor! I will let her know at once!" she bowed and disappeared quickly into a dark purple cloud that engulfed her body before dissipating into nothing.

Aporia was left alone with her thoughts while she kept observing the young pink haired man through her orb, she had done it many times throughout the years despite his brother's objections. When she looked at him she saw so much promise, and she couldn't avoid thinking about how she had gotten to this point.

* * *

 

_ Her nature was just as her name suggests, wherever Aporia went, doubt and disorder followed. Centuries ago she had met a young knight, and when he promised her suffering was over, she believed him with all her heart; the first thing she thought when she saw him was that he was a man among men, and he was as kind as they came. _

_ The happiest years she had, were the ones with her knight, but just like everything she loved… it had to come to an end. He had been sent to the front lines during one of the many wars they faced, led by their greedy king, and had fallen victim to wizards from a different land; his body too torn to be recognized, and she received nothing aside from his wedding band and a few scorched medals. _

_ Aporia had magic of her own, her father had been a wizard but died too soon for him to nourish her natural talents; it seemed war was determined to take away everything she loved, no matter the time of history she was in; her mother, however, dealt with different forces and thought her daughter well before passing; she had been a powerful witch capable of bending anyone's will if she ever wished to. _

_ With her pain fresh from the loss of her husband she dealt with the darkest forces possible and made a deal with the devil himself to get the power she needed; her king would be no more, if the men at his service were not returning home then he would share their fate a thousand times over if it was up to her. _

_ She left and set her way to participate in a war that wasn't meant to be hers. Aporia had killed, maimed and vanished many of her enemies in order to get closer to her goal; the King's army had been no match for the endless power she took from hell itself, no one understood how it worked, or how she would manage to make all the men turn on each other and tear their comrades apart. _

_ She was painfully aware that there had been many innocent bystanders that had fallen victim to her revenge, one of them being Nephele's daughter who had lost her grip from her brother's waist during crossfire and fallen into the water; her life was spared only when Nephele shared her story with Aporia and convinced her to plead for the young woman's life with the water spirits. _

_ Not too long after, Aporia found her way into the King's chambers and pierced his heart, the war between the lands was over the moment the King died, no man was willing to risk his life for a dead man. _

_ With her revenge completed, Aporia settled within the mountains to live life as she pleased; she traded potions and remedies in town where she also spent her money drinking at the local pub with any man that could keep her warm at night; it all changed one day, she knew right away when the seed of her loneliness became a living creature in her womb. _

_ Her daughter came nine months later, a precious child with hair as black as hers, deep dark eyes and a feisty spirit. _

* * *

 

She was brought back from her trance by Helle herself "Aunty! Is it true?!" Aporia rolled her eyes "You could try to be more respectful towards me, child"

"Nhm… no one is around… I'll be all formalities when the others arrive" a huge grin made its way to Helle's face "WELL? Is it?!"

"I'm assuming you refer to your mother's news?" She nodded excitedly making Aporia giggle "In that case, yes, it is true, but Helle…"

"I Know, I know! I'll be in my best behavior" her big green eyes narrowed when seeing the orb; she removed a strand of her messy short hair from her face and sat next to Aporia "Why has he been so sad?"

"He's been sad because… well...we've made him sad"

"Aunty… would he come home otherwise?" Aporia smiled and grabbed her chin between her index and thumb "No, he wouldn't. We are doing this for him"

Helle smiled again and rested her chin on her hand "Natsu looks so much like them, doesn't he?"

"He does… he has his mother's eyes, and his father's smile…"

* * *

 

Lucy made it almost all the way to the guild before it started pouring, this reminded her very much to the time where she searched for Juvia to comfort her, but if it was even possible, this rain felt worse; the rain felt so heavy that her muscles were struggling to take the last few steps towards the guild's doors.

Once she was inside, she brushed the water off as much as possible and joined Cana and Mira at the bar "Whoa Lucy! You getting ready for the wet t-shirt contest or what?"

"Cana… I'm so not in the mood for this right now"

"Whoa, ok… what happened?" Lucy looked at Cana and raised her eyebrow "I'm honestly not sure… ahem… but I don't think I want to talk about it now"

"You are blushing… Mira isn't she blushing?"

"Oh my… I believe she is…"

Lucy winced and rested her forehead on the bar before covering her head with her arms "Why are men so stupid?"

"Oh, ok we are having this type of talk, Mira… bring the heavy stuff and call the reinforcement" Lucy shook her hands and head quickly "I don't think that's necessary! I really don't want to talk about it"

By the time Lucy had refused it was too late and the rest of the party was already walking towards her, carrying different drinks and snacks; everyone started chatting and for a second, she thought maybe Cana and Mira would forget about her minor slip.

"SO! Lucy… what did Natsu do?" Cana rested her chin on her hand and gave her that evil half smile, all the girls went from her to Lucy and back until Levy pushed the matter further "I was about to ask where he was, you've been weird lately… and after what happened earlier…"

"Everything is fine, ok? We just had a… weird…ar-gument?" Erza pulled Lucy to her chest and smashed her face against her armor in a tight hug "Oh Lucy! He shall be punished for making you suffer! We have thought him better than that"

"I mean it's not… hmm… it was a bit too confusing…"

"And now you’re blushing again… just spill it out!"

She rolled her eyes and covered her face with her hands "S…so… ok… we kind of got into an argument…and… he asked me to leave and go back to my house"

"WHAT?! I can't believe he did that! That's it, I'm going there right now!"

"Lisanna wait!" Lucy grabbed the young white hair mage by the wrist and pulled her back, she was blushing harder now "Ok… am… so he did that and left to take a shower and I got angry… so I barged in and shoved him"

The girls were staring at her waiting for her to continue and she took a deep breath "A-and then I shoved him a-again… and he told me to stop… and I didn't and… and… so…"

"OH!" Cana was smiling widely while Mira giggled covering her mouth, the rest of the girls were a bit more clueless "Ok, so Lucy, how was angry-sex with Natsu, then?"

"Oh Cana! You are always thinking about that! Lucy wasn't referring to…" Lisanna observed Lucy's face go 4 shades redder and stopped her previous sentence "Oh…ok, ahem… so…"

"So, how was it!?" Levy seemed a bit more excited about the idea and had basically jumped to pull Lucy's arm.

"I-it was… interesting"

"Interesting bad, or interesting good?"

"Interesting good… but now I feel kind of bad about it you know? I told him he needed to decide where things were going and to let me know once he did, and I just left him there! I mean come on… this is Natsu" she rubbed her temples and took a deep breath "I shouldn't have left him alone, he is dealing with so much…"

"Indeed, he is, but that doesn't mean he doesn't need to figure things out, I am sure by tomorrow he will feel better" Erza laid her hand on Lucy's shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah… I guess you’re right, I wanted to go back later but with this rain it's going to be hard"

"I'm glad your emotional turmoil has been taken care of… but can we please focus on the most important topic here?" Cana had a serious look in her face when she pressed both hands on the bar table "When are you going to tell us about your newly found sexual life with our idiotic, clueless, and adorable dragon slayer?"

"Geez Cana!... Gr…Fine! He is actually… not clueless… at all…" a few eyes widen in surprise "Ok… and with that you mean..." Lucy cleared her throat and avoided their eyes "I mean… he is naturally curious… so… you know… he clearly knows where everything is… it's not like he needed a set of instructions to find his way around"

"Well! I didn't see that one coming, that's for sure!" Cana gulped down half her drink and laughed loudly.

"You should also probably know he has been playing you all like a violin for years… he knows a lot of stuff about everyone and understands almost everything"

"Lu… come on… we grew up with him, there's no way" Levy crossed her arms and shifted her weight to the side.

"I'm telling you, that cute puppy eye look, and head tilt are one of his best tools to get what he wants from you… he knows you can't get that mad if he doesn't understand…"

The girls had their mouths opened in surprise, eyes widen and completely speechless "And newsflash, he is probably not the only one that knows too much about  _ everything _ … you two should go check on your own dragon slayers, they probably know all the interesting gossip around here" Lucy gave them a cocky smile, and almost at the same time they heard Gajeel choking with his beer.

Lily patted Gajeel's back rapidly "What the hell? Are you ok?" the iron dragon slayer kept coughing and waving his hand "Ahem, I am fine! Just leave it!" he blushed and turned away rapidly avoiding Levy's stare.

"Oh, and was that Laxus I saw locking himself in the master's office?... how convenient, don't you think Mira?" The aura around the Take-over mage started spreading dangerously while she walked towards the wooden door.

"Lucy, you just made a mess here, you know that, don't you?"

"Well, right now I have no way of punishing you Cana… but still… that was kind of fun"

"So… are you going to tell us what you guys were mad about?"

"It's complicated… he said he remembered some things about his family… and he meant his parents and his brother, I was so shocked by how nostalgic he seemed at the word and he picked up on it…"

"Ah… well that makes sense… he's never missed them because he didn't know who they were, but why did he remember after so long?"

"I'm not sure… I think it has to do with that guy from the council… but I thought he was here to make sure Natsu was stable… it doesn't make sense"

"I guess we'll have to keep our eyes open, didn't he say he was coming back tomorrow to deliver his report?"

"He did… hopefully the rain we'll be gone, and we'll be able to move around"

* * *

 

He sat on the couch staring at the wall, the one with all the missions he had taken, pictures of him with his friends and memorabilia; his head felt as if it was about to split in half at this point.

Natsu had been trying to convince himself that his mind was just tired and that he was not going crazy but seeing the image of his dead brother on and off was making him consider other options, he had been there when he left the guild earlier, when he had walked with Lucy, and when she had left.

The words his brother spoke to him outside the guild kept echoing inside his head

_ "Little brother… won't you come home already?" _

"You are not here… and I'm not…"

_ "You know you are… remember when you were little and would get scared during thunderstorms? You would sneak into my bed and I would sing for you until you fell asleep" _

"I don't remember that… I don't want to remember that"

" _ What was that silly lullaby? Mom used to sing it to us all the time… how did that start?" _

Natsu lowered his head and bit his lip before whispering "I lost my way and walked alone… into a path where nothing grew" Zeref smiled and closed his eyes "Oh yeah…"

_ I lost my way and walked alone, into a path where nothing grew, _

_ I was so scared to never find, the light to guide me by your side, _

_ The dark clouds and thunder ripped through the sky, _

_ Light and dark bringing shadow shape images alive. _

_ I should have known you'd find me there, to hold my hand and make me safe, _

_ You are my home, my friend my life, the one to always bring back my smile, _

_ No matter what darkness covers the way, together we will always push it away, _

_ No matter what darkness covers the way, we'll light the path and make our way, _

"Stop…"

_ "But we are missing the best part… the part when we go home, where we belong" _

Natsu turned quickly, he knew Lucy was now standing at the door observing him and couldn't help but open and close his mouth a couple of times, as if trying to say something.

"Shall we go?" He tried to smile but his heart wouldn't allow it, that song had struck a cord that he didn't know he possessed, and he suddenly remembered his mother, she smelled like fresh cut grass and roses.

"Why did you walk away?"

As if choosing the best moment to pop into his sight, he could see Zeref again  _ "This is going to be fun to explain little brother… I mean it is normal to see your dead brother… isn't it?" _

"I just had to, it was a bit… over…whelming?"

"Sometimes things can become overwhelming… but you need to trust us"

_ "You'll endangered her… just like I did with Mavis"  _ Natsu tried to avoid looking at him directly, he knew there was no way to explain this to Lucy "It's not that I don't trust you Luce… come on, you know it's not like that"

"Ok, so… tell me what it is then" he tried to explain the best he could, which was not much since he didn't understand himself; all these new images were flooding his mind and making him feel stuff that wasn't there before. He didn't wish to talk about it and he made it clear to her, but when she asked again, he felt the need to give her something, no matter how little; the moment the word  _ brother _ left his mouth and he felt her flinch he knew it had been the wrong decision, he felt hurt.

Zeref had been a monster in this time, but then again Natsu's time wasn't this one… his time had started four hundred years ago when is brother was protective and kind, when he would play with him and cut his food, sing him songs and read him books… but all she could see was the blood in his hands, blood that he had caused in many ways.

A thought popped into his head, could he completely regret the bloodshed? had he not died, his brother wouldn't have gone through all the trouble to bring him back, maybe… maybe he wouldn't have come to this time, nor met Lucy; would he want to live a lifetime without her? Without making her smile and enjoying her ramble about everything she loved? If his true mate was born four hundred years after him, would he have been alone if not for this war?

_ "I told you to not tell her yet… she won't get it; she is a hypocrite like everyone around you… Am I so bad? All this can be tracked to the pain I felt when losing the people I loved the most… Do they not remember what you turned into when you thought she was gone?" _

Natsu wanted to stop listening, but the words simply wouldn't go away; he didn't really know if people had been hurt during his breakdown, he never asked; how could they stand there and blame a man for succumbing to darkness due to pain and be so supportive towards him? His anger was towering over him at the thought and when he heard her voice inside his head something in his eyes changed…

_ "How do I fix him?" _

He felt his blood boil inside his veins, how dare she? He felt like a broken toy that had been kept only because of nostalgia;  _ "You see… she thinks there is something wrong with you! The only difference is that now you see, they don't want you to see" _

It all spiraled from there, he was caught in between listening to Lucy, Zeref and speaking his own mind, although at that moment it was hard to know if that was what he really thought. There was so much noise in his head that it was impossible to keep a clear mind.

_ "She's going to die if you don't push her away" _

"You demanded I be honest, and told me if I couldn't tell you then I should say so"

_ "Her bright star will fall under your darkness, she doesn't want to know the truth" _

"But when given the opportunity to ask you may not want to know the answer"

"Are you fucking kidding me Natsu? Why would you think that I don't want to?"

_ "No one can accept what we are brother, you need to go home" _

"Are you even listening to me?"

_ "Tic Toc brother, time is running away from you, listen-listen-listen to the ticking clock" _

* * *

 

Natsu was brought back from his thoughts by the heavy rain and thunder outside, his heart was still pounding, the image of his brother was nowhere to be found.

"I am… I am losing it…" he looked around almost expecting for his brother to appear again "SO, is that how it's going to be? You are going to appear to ruin every single conversation I have, but when I actually call for you, I'm going to get nothing?"

He felt sick, Lucy had actually compared him to her father, the man who had hurt her the most in her life, the one that almost ruined her; he didn't know what possessed him when he jumped her in the shower, he had felt the itching on his neck, the anger in his gut and that tingling feeling inside and his body had moved by itself.

It hadn't been like before, any other previous times they'd been together had been either filled with love and devotion, or with desperation and need… but anger? His mind started going wild again, had he hurt her? Had he bruised her pale skin and body? As the memories filled his mind, his member twitched, and his anger rose; he knew for sure there was something wrong with him if that idea was causing a reaction on his body.

All the sudden he heard humming, almost as an echo in the forest, it was a tune he knew and had heard not long ago from the lips of his dead brother, but it sounded like a woman's voice. He opened the door of his house and followed the sound without even putting a shirt and shoes on. The rain was heavy and thick, but he didn't mind that much; he didn't understand how the sound of the humming was so clear in his head despite all the noise around him and he started humming along.

He reached the lake and saw a silhouette of a woman, she was wearing a celeste dress with crossed chain straps above her chest, the dress opened on her stomach revealing her black shorts, but the tail of the dress was so long that it would drag behind her and its color varied between purple, celeste, and pink… it almost reminded him to a mermaid’s tail.

The woman was humming the tune and when she saw him, she smiled and spoke the words he had been thinking of on his way there…

_ I should have known you'd find me there, to hold my hand and make me safe, _

_ You are my home, my friend my life, the one to always bring back my smile, _

_ No matter what darkness covers the way, together we will always push it away, _

_ No matter what darkness covers the way, we'll light the path and make our way, _

She kept humming and twirled on the water, he took a step towards her and his feet sank right away, and that's when he noticed; she wasn't sinking, she was walking deeper and deeper inside the lake without a concern.

"How do you know that song?"

"Well, hello to you too! I knew you would find me" she smiled and for some reason it seemed so familiar to him, but he didn't know why "Who are you?"

"I am who I am, but who are you?" he raised an eyebrow, he had never enjoyed this type of game "I am Natsu Dragneel, Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayer, son of the Fire Dragon King Igneel! I am going to ask again… who-are-you?" he pointed at her, his face less surprised than before.

"Whoa… that was a pretty threatening face love, but we both know you won't risk using your magic… also I mean no harm, I'm after all, family"

"I already have one of those, thanks…" he turned around to leave but the words he heard from her made him stop "You should listen to your brother, home is the only place for you… and this ain't it"

"I… don't have a brother" he had said those words before and felt nothing at all, but when he said them now, he felt his heart break a bit "I mean… he is dead"

"Well he talks a lot for a dead guy, don't ya think?" she skipped a few times and got deeper into the lake and he was forced to walk inside it until the water was above his waist "Wait! You see him too?"

She laid above the water as if it was a bed and rested her head on her hand before looking at him "You fear going crazy, am I right? But if that's the case, would that even matter? Am I even here? If I answer your question would that answer be real?"

"I d-don't know…" she nodded in agreement "Exactly, but in the end, it doesn't matter what I think, only what you think… so you need to decide if you are going crazy or not! Simple huh?"

"You are not making sense… are you going to tell me who you are?" she smiled and sat up raising her hand to greet him with a huge grin "I am Helle, the water spirit of Hellespont" she stretched her hand towards him and after a moment of hesitation he grabbed it; he didn't know how, but she suddenly pulled him up and he was now sitting on the water, it almost felt like a comfortable cushion.

"How did you do that?" she shook her hand to disregard him "I thought the water spirit part was clear. You look very tired… have you not been sleeping?"

"That's none of your business… I don't know you"

"But I know you…" she lifted her hand and touched the metal contraption around his neck, and he flinched at her touch "I hate to see you like this my prince, you are not meant to keep suffering"

It was so clear now, how could he not have seen it? He tried to get up but when he moved, he started sinking again and was forced to stay put "Tsk… You are with that crazy woman"

"Hey! More respect for your elders!" She stuck her tongue out "Anyways, that's what she would say… you know we are only trying to get you what you deserve. A place that will fear and respect you, a home with the ones who truly love you just as you are… all of you… the human, the dragon, and the demon…"

"I have a home, and people that love me" she puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms "People that are trying to change you! That don't understand you! I wouldn't change a hair"

He rubbed his eyes with his palms and huffed in annoyance; he felt extremely tired all the sudden and felt his weight pushing him down and his eyes closing; she had started humming again and she grabbed him and pulled him to her lap for him to rest.

Natsu tried to get up, but it was almost as if he couldn't move; she brushed her fingers through his hair in a soothing way and started singing for him…

_ I lost my way and walked alone, into a path where nothing grew, _

_ I was so scared to never find, the light to guide me by your side, _

_ The dark clouds and thunder ripped through the dark night sky, _

_ Light and dark bringing shadow shape images alive, _

_ I should have known you'd find me there, to hold my hand and make me safe, _

_ You are my home, my friend my life, the one to always bring back my smile, _

_ No matter what darkness covers the way, together we will always push it away, _

_ No matter what darkness covers the way, we'll light the path and make our way. _

_ Hand in hand we created the light, to defeat the evil that kept us apart, _

_ We walked together creating the path, a trail that would always lead us back, _

_ Because no matter if we are ever alone, when or where we have to go, _

_ We'll walk the trail we made long ago, the one that will always lead us back home. _

* * *

 

The rain had finally stopped during the night, fortunately the guild had plenty of space for them to stay comfortably, although most people had engaged in heavy drinking the night before to pass the time.

Lucy stretched her arms and walked to the guild hall yawning "Morning Mira! Can I get some breakfast?"

"Sure! I'm guessing toast, fruit and tea?" Lucy smiled and nodded before taking a seat and resting her forehead on the table only for her rest to be interrupted by the sound of flapping wings and two paws on her head.

"Lucy! How did it go with Natsu yesterday? Did you make him better?"

"Happy… get off my head…"

"Did you?!" Lucy raised her face forcing Happy to land on the table "We had some sort of argument yesterday… but I am going to find him after breakfast, so we can straighten things up, ok?"

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you to make him better! You probably threatened to smash him until death!"

"Shut it cat! Stop being so dramatic… it was only a… small fight… ok?"

Mira came back with Lucy's breakfast and as soon as she finished, she and Happy walked back home to check up on Natsu. The path was too muddy, so it took a bit longer than expected, of course that would be one of the downsides of living in the forest.

As soon as the house came to view, and they noticed the door was wide open, both Lucy and Happy knew something was wrong; they rushed inside the house to find it empty, lots of water inside the house due to the heavy rain.

"We need to find him, Happy take the skies, see if you find any trail of him"

"AYE SIR!"

Happy flew as fast as he could, he first went to the small shelter Natsu had built with Lisanna, the place where they had taken care of Happy's egg, he flew in between the trees in the forest, entered a few caves and found nothing.

"Natsu… where did you go?" a few tears started falling on the exceed's cheeks, and when he wiped them away a thought occurred to him "The lake!"

He got to the lake in no time and was surprised by what he found, the rain had been so heavy that the water seemed cloudy and muddy too, almost as if the water was thicker than before; he scanned the place with his eyes and started flying above it, it didn't take long for him to spot his friend.

Natsu was laying on the edge; half his body was still inside the water, only his upper chest and arm were on solid ground; his hand was holding the root of a tree and Happy felt his blood freeze inside his body. The tree that his friend was holding on to for dear life was black, almost completely scorched, even the soil around it seemed dry in comparison to the rest of the place. Happy rushed to his friend and noticed he was breathing, when he tried waking him up, he noticed his skin was cold and his lips were pale.

He lifted him up as much as he could but carrying dead-weight-Natsu was much harder, his speed was not as fast as he wanted it to be. He yelled for Lucy until he found her running somewhere on the field and when she saw Happy carrying Natsu, she smiled for a second; It took that amount of time for her to notice he was basically a rag doll being moved from one side to the other.

Happy didn't stop, he kept flying home in hopes that Lucy would catch up and he could put Natsu safely down. Once he flew through the open door, he laid his best friend on the couch and got a towel to start drying his body as much as he could, he even removed his soaked pants and threw them onto the floor.

"Hey Natsu! Come on!" his poor eyes were puffy now, he had been crying for his friend, he got all the blankets he could and piled them up above him trying to make him as warm as possible.

It didn't take long for Lucy to run through the door, trying to catch her breath "What happened to him?!

"I don't know, I don't know! I just found him on the lake and he was so cold!"

Lucy sat close to him and tried to warm him up as much as possible "Natsu? Hey, come on…" Happy doubted for a second but he knew if he was telling someone, it had to be Lucy "I… think he used magic"

She felt like all the blood had left her, it couldn't be, they had barely been home for a bit over a week, he still had six months to go "W-why do you think that?"

"There's a tree… he was holding on to it and it was burned… I don't know if it was him but, but…"

She took a deep breath and got ahold of her keys "Open, Gate of the Lion, Leo!"

"Princess! I've missed… whoa, what the hell happened?!"

"Loke, listen… I need your help" his face became serious "What do you need"

"There's a tree in the forest, Happy will tell you which… I need it gone, no trace of it, make sure there's no magic trail either… take whoever you need, just tell me who do I need to summon"

"Lucy…" she shook her hand "Loke, just do it… Happy take him there, now; the council guy is still in town and if he finds that…"

"Listen, he is still going to know if he used magic, there's nothing you can do"

"I don't care… we have to try ok? Just… please Loke"

He took a deep breath and looked at his master and friend "Whatever you need, princess… I'll let you know if we need any help" It didn't take more than a couple of minutes for them to leave. Lucy didn't see color returning to his face and her concern grew.

"Maybe I should get Porlyusica… but the more people we get involved…"

"You don't need to do such a thing, child, I am here to help" Lucy looked up and saw the dark-haired woman she had seen through Natsu, she was wearing her hair the same way, a messy bun with two chopsticks, but now she wore a floor-length purple wrap dress.

Lucy reached for her keys when she noticed the woman lowering her head and raising her hands "I'm not your enemy… for now; this was not supposed to happen…"

"What are you talking about?"

"This doesn't matter now… he has no energy inside of him, no reserves…" she pulled out a tiny flask from her pocket "This will make him better… not enough for it to be detected, not too little not to make a difference…"

"Why should I trust you?"

"You shouldn't, but neither of us is interested in him dying. Listen carefully child, it will be your choice to give this to him or not, but whatever the cost may be, I won't let him die, even if I have to burn this whole town to the ground and feed its flames to him…"

"What will happen?"

"It's barely enough for him to wake up… not enough for him to recover; you should be more concerned with that filthy council rat roaming inside your guild" she tossed the flask at Lucy who held it between her fingers and saw the orange and red color of its content.

"What is this?" Aporia smirked at her in a way that caused Lucy to shiver "Tears from an old friend… one he will meet again, soon"

As soon as Lucy blinked, the dark-haired woman disappeared into thin air, no trace of her left behind; she recovered from the initial shock and looked at the small flask again, considering her options, but at the end of the day… she would never be willing to lose him, no matter what she had to do.

She opened the bottle and placed it on his lips, watching as the liquid made its way inside his mouth; her heart skipped a bit as soon as she saw him swallow and his lips immediately pinked up a bit; his eyes fluttered open and she cupped his face.

"Luce?..." She kissed him sweetly, tears falling to her cheeks "I'm so sorry… I'm so sorry" she didn't care if she had just signed her soul away; if the woman had proposed the most horrifying deal, she would have taken it without blinking… because no matter what, the man before her had become her life, her happiness and her reason to exist.

 


End file.
